Once Upon A Time
by Kitsune Blade
Summary: We all know William Birkin absolutely loathed Alexia Ashford. But were those feelings of hatred ever truly reciprocated? One-sided AlexiaxBirkin.
1. Love For One So Small

**A/N: Hey, everyone. I decided to write this fic after MA-121 suggested to me that I should write a fic for this pairing after the drabble I wrote about them in _Scattered Moments_. Anywho, I hope you like it. :D**

**Once Upon A Time (No One Lived Happily Ever After)**

**_"I Love You Endlessly Not Knowing Why"_**

Chapter I: Love For One So Small

They say a picture is worth a thousand words but at that moment the young Alexia Ashford was at a complete loss of what to think. She looked at the picture of the two youthful men intently. According to the article coupled with the picture, the two were the new head researchers of the Arklay Labs located in mid-western America. The article had claimed that their names were Albert Wesker and William Birkin. Despite that the older of the two was more attractive with his sense of ageless refinement, Alexia's eyes were glued onto the form of the sixteen year old. Being but only seven years old (though genius she was) she couldn't understand why this William boy held her rapt fascination. Curious, pretty eyes repeatedly traced over all aspects of the photo, over every feature of the scientist, unaware that she was unintentionally in the process of committing all of it to memory.

She wasn't certain of what had caused her to look at the files discarded carelessly on the table, as if the recipient thought the latest news of Umbrella to be of no importance. Alexia had been beginning to learn about the corporation known as Umbrella. According to her father Alexander, Alexia would not only be the best scientist the company had but also be the one in charge of the pharmaceutical company someday in the future. The girl found the idea pleasing, being in charge one of the world's largest businesses seemed like a role that would fit her perfectly. But at that moment, no plans for a future career clouded her thoughts. With the papers in her hands, she couldn't bring herself to concentrate on anything else.

It made her happy to come upon this serendipitous happenstance which caused her tiny heart to beat with warm joy as she sat on the plush chair. Usually, she would have completely ignored the notes scattered about and gone on her way about her day. "William Birkin…" She murmured to herself, trying out the name using her own voice with it's musical lilt and subtle drawl; listening closely as every syllable of the name poured forth from small, delicate lips. An almost hesitant smile formed on her pale face, was it really proper for a stranger to make another feel so inexplicably cheerful?

After a few minutes more of examining the contents which she held in her hands, she determined that it was necessary to learn more about this Doctor Birkin. If someone was to hold her interest so absolutely as he was managing to do, it would not do to have very little known about him. But who would have such knowledge of the recently appointed head researcher? The recipient of the files. Alexander Ashford.

Taking the various papers with her, she went off to search for her father. Passing through frivolously furnished halls and passing frightened servants (she could be a rather demanding little girl), Alexia poked her little blond head into various rooms to search for the current patriarch of the Ashford family. Eventually, she found him sitting in the library reading a book that appeared to be nearly making him fall asleep.

"Father." She called, announcing her presence in the room and stepping into the library with an air of superiority that seemed decidedly odd when cloaking itself on a child.

Alexander awoke fully with a bit of a start, he hadn't even noticed that he was beginning to doze off. But once he realized it was his beloved child calling his attention he immediately ceased being annoyed by the fact he'd been woken up. "Ah! Alexia, my dear, what may I do for you?"

"Father," she repeated before showing him the picture she had been so focused on previously, pointing specifically at Birkin's face, "what do you know about William Birkin?"

Alexander felt a little baffled as to why his precious daughter would ask about someone with no noble blood and had clearly not the intelligence to match her own. He had simply skimmed though the article and tossed it aside. It was just a bunch of meaningless words to him accompanied by an equally worthless photograph. "Not much, I must confess. I've never bothered to look much into anything where that young man is concerned. But why do you wish to know, pumpkin?"

_Well, you're as useless as ever. _The girl mentally huffed as she began glaring at her father in unhidden irritation. However, she sighed and amended her anger. It would not help her find any information if she was not focusing on the topic. "I was just curious. I mean, sixteen is quite young to be head researcher, is it not?" It was all she could really say since she was still at a loss as to exactly why she was so interested in knowing more about Birkin. It perturbed her slightly that she was rather clueless as to the motivation behind her quest of knowledge that shouldn't have really been important to her at all.

"Well, it is quite a young age to be given such status within any company, let alone Umbrella. In fact, it has been unheard of to happen until now." Alexander admitted reluctantly with a small frown on his countenance. He replaced the expression on his face as he smiled down at his daughter proudly and continued to say, "But that boy isn't nearly as bright as you are, darling."

Alexia smiled in happy child-like manner that seemed to hold all the arrogance of an conceited prima donna. She had heard such praise all her life thus far and though it made her father sound like a broken record spouting empty compliments, it was still an acceptable way to inflate her ego. "I already know that, father." She replied confidently. "Are you absolutely certain there is nothing about him that you can tell me?"

Alexander shook his head, replying in the negative, "I'm afraid not. However, I probably have some files about him in my study. I could try to find them for you if you like." Alexander was not an important person in Umbrella, delegated to simply being a figurehead for the Ashford family. However, he was quite adamant about the fact that as an Ashford he had as much say as his father had where the business was concerned, simply for being the son of one of the Umbrella co-founders. So just to keep him somewhat happy and quiet, Spencer made a habit of sending the man all the information on every employee of Umbrella. While this appeased Alexander he never read the files unless it was necessary. Needless to say, all that the many papers did was take up space.

"No, that's all right. It isn't as if it is urgent or anything of that nature. Don't trouble yourself." She lied, offering him a fake but gently sweet smile before exiting the room. Once in the empty hallway, she gazed again at the image that seemed to be returning her stare. _I've seen father's study and I don't think I'll possibly find the file I want as quickly as I would like if I searched by myself. I can't get a servant to do it because they'll most definitely tell my father that I was poking around in that room, which he wouldn't be too pleased with. Though he would never mention that to me. Hmm… who can I..? Oh yes! Alfred! My dear brother would help me without any fuss. _

With a grin, the girl headed off to her twin brother's room where she had last seen him. She knocked on his door briefly before walking in without any assent but she knew Alfred wouldn't mind, he never did. Her brother looked up from the schoolwork he was studying. Although they were twins and both of higher than usual intellect, Alexia was a few grade levels ahead of her brother. In fact, she had already finished all school-related assignments allotted to her that day. Alfred, on the other hand, was still working away and trying in vain to catch up to Alexia academically. Where most siblings would be envious of such a sister, Alfred wasn't jealous at all. Quite the opposite in fact. He was amazed at his wonderful fortune of being blessed with such a perfect sister. Alfred beamed upon seeing that it was Alexia that had arrived in his room.

"Alfred, I need your help with something." Alexia announced immediately. She didn't bother with any idle chatter or any greetings, they weren't needed. They never were with anyone she spoke too. She may have only been a young child but she greatly disliked wasting time with meaningless talking. "I need you to come with me to father's study and look for a file on someone named William Birkin."

Alfred was only too happy to help his sister with anything, especially when he specifically was the one who was needed. But he couldn't help but feel curious as to why Alexia would need to research some random man. "All right." He replied getting up from the chair he had been occupying. "Who is William Birkin?"

Alexia gave a slight grimace. She loved her brother dearly but the name didn't sound right when Alfred said it. Her twin shared the same subtle drawl however the same was not true of the melodious timbre her voice held. Instead Alfred seemed to stress certain words as if speaking in some pseudo iambic pentameter and made sure that every consonant was defined. Despite this almost harsh way of speaking, the boy was rather talented at mimicking the voices of others, affording Alexia with many moments of amusement when she was aggravated at their father or one of the maids.

"I'm not entirely sure. That is why I want to find out more about him." She offered as an answer as to her search for a profile of the man. "And…" She wanted to explain more to her brother but it wasn't possible as she herself still couldn't quite comprehend why she was so insistent to find out more. She shrugged gracefully, finding herself with a lack for an end to her sentence. She handed the picture she still had in her possession over to Alfred. "All I know right now is that he was made head researcher of the Arklay Labs and he's only sixteen."

The boy looked over the picture with some interest. It wasn't this often that his sister appeared to be affected this strangely. He simply nodded in response. "Well, let's go to father's study and look. I don't like the notion of being caught in there." Although Alexander doted on Alexia, he was not nearly as fond of Alfred and it showed rather noticeably.

"Do not worry, I'm sure with the two of us looking it shouldn't take us too long to locate what I seek."

The twins went straight to Alexander's study, avoiding and sneaking past various household servants. Although they were told not to snoop around the room the door was left unlocked all the time. The two slipped into the room unnoticed and started to search around, feeling as if the shifting through the piles of paper would be an endless task. They kept speaking to hushed tones and to a minimum to avoid being heard.

They had been searching for quite sometime and Alexia's short patience was wearing very, very thin. However, Alfred proved to be her savior from the tedious work. "I found it!" He exclaimed cheerfully in a whisper, holding the folder marked with the words 'BIRKIN, WILLIAM' in his hands. His sister gasped and immediately hurried over to see for herself. A large smile spread across her face.

Alexia took the folder into her hands and looked up at her brother with the smile still plastered on her features. "Oh, Alfred. I thought we would never find it! Thank you so much." She bestowed a quick hug as thanks, which was all Alfred needed as any recognition for his efforts.

* * *

Alexia sat in her room alone and poured over the contents of the folder. She didn't completely understand why Umbrella needed so much information that would be mostly useless to them for the most part but for her part she was thankful. She drank up every word, studying the sentences with more attention than she gave to any of her school lessons. It felt as if every letter was more significant as the last the more she learned about the young man.

And as her knowledge of him increased, realization was dawning on her. She was beginning to understand, to comprehend the reason behind her need to know all of the words on the paper and the need to know everything about William Birkin. It wasn't something she was well-versed in as this was her first stumbling attempt at what she supposed was known as a 'crush'. She thought it wasn't of any use to her but it wasn't an entirely displeasing situation. In fact, she hadn't been aware that puppy love could be such an elating experience.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it, the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed the start to this story. And if you liked it (or didn't) please leave a review. :D**


	2. Waiting For What Can Only Come Undone

Chapter II: Waiting For What Can Only Come Undone

The past year had been rather uneventful aside from the young genius' growing knowledge of her secret obsession. She didn't believe herself to be a stalker, that was a title that was too completely perverse and despicable to be associated with one who personified perfection so absolutely as she did. No, she was simply gathering information on a subject that interested her greatly. That subject just so happened to be a person. In any case, she treated her still foreign feeling emotions as a school project. Between her young age and analytical mentality, it was the only way she knew how to deal with such sentiments. Most girls her age were getting their pigtails pulled and chasing the boys they liked around the playground. Alexia, on the other hand, sat solitarily in her room and organized all known facts of William Birkin into easy-to-navigate categories.

However, even her carefully crafted combination of affection and detachment could not ignore the superfluous nature of collecting such intelligence if she were to never meet the man. The girl arrived at the conclusion that such a situation must be remedied since it did not agree with her at all. But to correct the problem, she knew she could not do it alone; many miles stood between her and her desired destination. All would notice her presence missing if she ever executed a plan to traverse the distance alone. Therefore she needed permission and an escort to the American laboratories.

So when the young Ashford girl crossed paths with her father in one of the many corridors in their home Alexia immediately decided to approach the subject. "Father, I want to go to the Arklay Labs." She demanded point-blank. She knew it must have been a rather odd requisition to be brought up so abruptly but she wasn't to be bothered with the details. All that truly mattered was gaining the acquaintance of Dr. Birkin. She was determined to make sure that no one got in the way of her goal. However, she felt confident that everything would go her way as it usually did, there were very, very few things her father refused her.

"Why ever would you want to go there, darling?" Her father questioned, taken aback by the strange supplication. She had never shown any real particular interest in the place in question or at least none that he could notice. Then again, if Alexander were to speak truthfully, he seemed to know very little about Alexia personally. If asked, he wouldn't be able to tell anyone her favourite color or her preferred food. He didn't know anything about his own daughter that fathers should know about their children. Alexia kept to herself; presenting to him the same indifferent but commanding girl that she was to everyone else, only seeking him out when she was in need of something.

"I have my own reasons that you need not concern yourself with." She snapped calmly, placing her hands on her hips as she glared up at Alexander with eyes that were shining yet dull but seemed to hold an unending well of beauty. "But you will allow me to go there, right?" It wasn't really posed as a question but more of a statement, there wasn't a note of uncertainty in her voice. After all, how could her father deny his most dear daughter what she asked of him? In her view, it was a rather simple request.

But to her utmost bewilderment Alexander shook his head in response. "I'm afraid I cannot grant you what you ask, my dear." Despite the fact that he was an important figure in Umbrella (or so he'd like to believe), even if he wanted to, Alexander could not bring Alexia into any Umbrella labs since she was not an employee nor had any other reason to be brought to locations where important business research was taking place. He attempted to explain this to his now confused child. "I apologize." He added. He knew what the repercussions were of denying Alexia anything she wished.

The wide-eyed expression that had been a result of being negated soon faded away and instead her eyes began to shimmer with the blue embers of hell. She then did what most children do when they don't get their way. She threw a temper tantrum. But unlike other children, Alexia was a force to be reckoned with for one so young. She hurled the usual insults and angry shouts but her fury was akin to that of an offended goddess. Most of what she said to her father didn't even register in her mind, all she cared about was the hurt look on his face and the dark happiness that bubbled noticeably beneath the anger. Umbrella's rules didn't matter to her._ In fact, they shouldn't even apply to me._ She growled mentally. _I'm an Ashford. **Alexia** Ashford. Don't they understand that?_ Once she had spent what power she was willing to use of her child vocal chords, she stormed off without another word back to her room to regain composure.

Alexia grabbed a lovely doll and lowered herself onto her bed, which was covered in white blankets and was much too large for just her petite body. She hugged the doll tightly to herself for comfort as she let her thoughts sort themselves out. Alexia wasn't the type to cry if things did not turn out as she had planned nor did she even find comfort in the beautiful toy. In fact, she did not have any sort of fondness for the many figures of porcelain situated around her room. However, everyone else seemed to think she liked them and thus her room drowned in an over abundance of miniature women and girls.

_What will I do now? _Curiously elegant fingers brushed the fake golden locks of the doll dubbed Adelaide as the other small, sweet hand mindlessly caressed the cold and hard face that was painted with make-up. Empty blue eyes stared off into the unknown as Alexia's own seemed to be doing the exact same thing. _Is it possible that… I won't ever meet him, will I?_ This notion began to swirl about her mind, slowly sinking in and contaminating every thought process. She didn't want to accept it, she couldn't. _No… _She shook her head and clutched the doll even more tightly as the truth of this thought washed over her like a merciless tsunami._ No, no, no…_

Suddenly, Alexia heard a loud shattering of glass and the word "No!" echoing around her off the walls like a chorus of furious angels. With surprise, Alexia noted Adelaide now slumped across the room next to the wall with a broken face in pieces, appearing more like a monster screaming in agony than a precious doll. The girl looked down at her own feet placed firmly on the ground and her hands clenched in fists at her sides. When had she stood up? When had she flung Adelaide across the room with all her might? Had it really been her yelling at the top of her lungs? Her body could still feel the exertion of throwing the doll and her throat still felt vaguely in pain and scratchy from screaming. Alexia had been known to fly into blind rages without notice but never before had it been of her own doing. All she could do was stand and stare ahead of her, feeling shocked at her own behavior.

Someone soon entered her bedroom without any notice but Alexia didn't bother to look over to see who the intruder was, didn't even bother to reprimand them for entering without knocking first. "Alexia, are you all right?" The genuinely concerned voice questioned. Alfred. Alexia finally looked over to see his face covered with worry and hidden uncertainty. She ripped her gaze from him and sat back down on her bed heavily, folding her hands on her lap and clasping them almost painfully. She was very unsure of how to explain herself and how to explain anything at all without letting it known of her amorous feelings where that certain doctor was concerned. However, it was Alfred, her own twin brother, surely it would be acceptable to speak to him about her current problem. She mulled over her thought for a minute or so in silence. From Alfred's point of view, without any response from his sister he could only assume something was horribly wrong. In an almost apprehensive tone, he addressed her again, "Alexia?"

"Our father is a wretchedly cruel man." She answered in monotone, staring unseeingly ahead of her as she still swam in the swirling abyss of her mind. She was quiet for quite a few moments once again but this time Alfred didn't say a word, choosing instead to wait patiently for any response from his sister. Something of great significance was most definitely troubling her and he knew she would only speak when she was ready. Alexia finally spoke again after picking the rest of her explanation carefully, "He denied me something that I greatly desire."

Alfred treaded carefully forward into the acutely feminine room, not wanting to excite Alexia's anger and find himself to be the recipient of her rage. However, his twin didn't stir at all even as he sat himself in a comfortable purple chair opposite of her bed. "What is that you want? Can I help at all?"

Alexia couldn't help the twitch at the corners of her mouth, a quick smile dashing it's way onto her face. "Oh, if only it were that simple, Alfred. I know that you would not disappoint me." She commented with a sigh as the tiny grin on her face ebbed away and her blank expression returned once again. "I wished to go to the Arklay Labs in America. However, it seems that this is not possible since I am, as of right now, not an employee of Umbrella. Our family name seems to mean nothing to them so I am not permitted to venture there." Hearing it all in her own words seemed to cement the fact even further that there was no way to meet Birkin. She gripped her fingers tighter over her left hand.

It was easy to see how much this bothered his sister but he still couldn't understand why. Why did she want to go to a Umbrella research facility now? Not to mention there were plenty of them around the world, so why the Arklay Labs specifically? "Why is it that you want to go there?" He asked after a slightly tense moment or two. Alexia seemed to be paying attention to their conversation yet at the same time he could see her concentration was ripped between their talking and whatever thoughts were going through her mind, thoughts that he could only assume were not comforting in the least.

"There is someone I very much wish to meet." She admitted without even noticing she was speaking, as far as she was concerned she had merely thought it in her mind and was still in the process of deciding what to say. Most of her brainpower was focusing on thinking of ways to attempt to make it to America but all possible plans seemed futile. It wasn't as if she could use her anger this time to scare anyone into taking her to the Arklay Labs since her father had already forbade her going there. And even if she did somehow manage to make it to her destination they would easily find her. After all, she had already told Alexander where she intended to go so it would make her very easy to catch and take back home.

Alfred felt a tad confused at first at his sister's words. Initially, he couldn't think of anyone who could possibly be of any interest to her until he remembered the file they had looked for the previous year and the bit of information that she had divulged about the subject. "You mean William Birkin, right?" He asked and knew he must've been right when his sister's gaze snapped up to meet his as soon as he mentioned the name. He usually wasn't one to question Alexia about anything she did or anything she wanted but at that moment he was still worried about her and thought it to be wise to inquire a little further. "Why do you want meet him specifically?"

"I… I…" What on earth exactly was it that she was supposed to say? How was one to explain the feelings that she felt? She wasn't in love, as easy as it would've been to say that, it would've been redundant to say so. Saying she had a 'crush' felt silly and childish; even though she was aware she was still a child, she didn't feel that way at all. Saying she simply 'liked' Birkin felt like an insult to her emotions. "At school, is there any girl that you pay special attention to?" She asked after another brief pause. The two went to different schools due to the fact that Alexia was far more advanced than Alfred. Her brother was two years ahead of most other children's learning pace but Alexia on the other hand was already in Year 13, ready to head to Princeton in the next few months since her application was already accepted. Because of this separation she wasn't privy to how Alfred was socially in school or really anything he did there aside from the school work he brought home with him and her own brief memories of attending the same school.

Slight confusion washed over Alfred, the question appeared to be a change of topic but an odd change nonetheless. "No, I can't say that I do." He replied with a shake of his head. The boy wasn't fond of school at all. The lessons were fairly easy but challenging enough to keep him interested without getting too bored. However, the people that filled the building that he was required to go to everyday were more bothersome. It may have been a private school but that fact didn't shield it from bullies attending the establishment. He was an easy enough target to pick on, being a few years younger than the others in his year and he was smarter then most of them as well. He kept mostly to himself without bothering to gain any form of friendship with fellow classmates. As it was with all social outcasts, whispered insults and nasty rumors abounded around him, some he heard and others he decided he'd rather not know about.

But he had a simple way of dealing with such happenings but if anyone were to learn of his thoughts they would probably be disturbed by a child thinking in such a manner. When sitting in class and he was disposed to not pay attention to the lesson or if something was said to or about him that was particularly hurtful, his mind left the classroom to think much more pleasant thoughts. In this instance though, the term 'pleasant' must not be taken into consideration by everyone. Most children daydreamed in class about favorite past-times or having fun with friends, Alfred on the other hand fantasized about torture in the most extreme. Ripping off their fingernails; gouging out their eyeballs; hanging them by their internal organs while they still lived. Piquet; Water Cure; Scaphism; and his personal favourite, the Iron Maiden. Of course, at school Alfred was quite quiet and so complacent that no one would suspect such things to be running through his mind. "Why?" He asked after a moment.

"Well, I must confess that I'm rather fond of Mr. Birkin." She answered, looking back down to the ornate carpet. She couldn't help the blush that carried itself to the soft flesh of her cheeks. "I must also regrettably admit that I am not certain as to why I feel as I do." She idly began to kick her legs back and forth as she felt a queer nervousness she wasn't accustomed to experiencing. In fact, she couldn't remember a time she had ever really felt so unsure and timid. At that moment, she likened herself to a ridiculous fool. "You must be thinking about how silly I seem right now." She murmured sadly.

"No of course not." He assured her though he did think that her behavior was rather uncharacteristic of her. The two then just sat in silence for quite a while, Alexia was secretly grateful for Alfred's soundless company. She took much time to try to sort out her thoughts as she lie down on her bed, staring up at the purple canopy above her. As her thoughts started turning into a merry-go-round of meaningless Alexia began to feel her eyelids becoming heavy. Soft lights that illuminated her bedroom and her ever-welcoming bed started to lull her to sleep until she was in a state where it was difficult to tell if she were awake or truly asleep.

* * *

A beautiful old cathedral surrounded her and everyone within the sacred structure. Upon her body she felt all the lace and frills of a breathtaking wedding gown wrapped about a body that was still that of a child. But none of that concerned her. At that moment she only had eyes for the man in front of her. She was absolutely positive that she was staring into the perfectly blue eyes of William. She was smiling so widely with happiness her mouth threatened to rip into a Glasgow Smile, she couldn't really feel it but somehow she could just tell that was the sensation produced. She barely listened as the preacher rattled off words that were used at many a wedding ceremony.

"… If anyone here has any reasons as to why these two should not be joined in Holy Matrimony, let him speak now or forever hold his peace." Suddenly, the whole building filled with a cacophony of shouting and wailing, of complete and utter objection to the marriage. She couldn't specifically hear them but just a feeling in her mind told her that she could hear the jumbled words they spewed forth. While William looked over at the riotous crowd with wavering and distantly agreeing eyes, Alexia ignored them. She outstretched her arms and placed her gloved hands on either side of his face, turning him to face her once more. The smile hadn't disappeared off of her lips. She stood on her tippy-toes, reaching upwards with her lips towards his…

But before they ever touched she suddenly found herself sat in a great marble hall upon a throne covered in red velvet. Beside her she could feel that William was sitting and staring at the same strange character she was. There were many people (not people really… but strangely… ants…) mingling on either side of the regal court also looking at the woman. The girl looked strangely familiar… Then Alexia noticed that was because the woman looked like an older version of herself but it was difficult to tell since her face was horribly disfigured. Upon her body she wore a costume that belonged to one who was a jester so Alexia could only assume that was her purpose there in the court. The costume looked like it belonged to an insect, a dragonfly robbed of its wings. Her bodysuit was a vivid green color checkered with black diamonds and on her head was a jester's hat that was yellow with black stripes. "Adelaide," William spoke, "What entertainment do you bring to us today?"

"I have but a humble song to sing to you, sire." She replied with her broken smile. She then began to sing a song that did not sit well with Alexia though she could not make out all the words. "_There was… naïve king… wed… nasty queen… king… loved… queen… feared… secret kept… rule the kingdom… own… king knew not… bride… good as gold… one day… court… arrow pierced… king's heart… lost… life… lady love…_"

Once the last note of the haunting melody ended, Alexia immediately stood up and started screaming. She wasn't entirely sure what she was yelling but she was definitely greatly displeased. She turned to see if William's emotions mirrored her own, only she discovered the same look he had worn during the disastrous wedding. She could sense laughing. Adelaide was laughing. Not at the queen specifically but it was that chilling laughter that people only indulged in when they were driven by pure insane determination, a mirthless and utterly unhappy sound.

But it died away and now Alexia felt herself rocking back and forth on the cold stone floor. She was crying but why? Something seemed to be missing and it saddened her greatly. Something was missing and there was no hope of retrieving it. She could feel the anger there as well. Surely, there was something she could do to replace that which now seemed to be forever gone. She got up and ran down the tower stairs but she tripped and fell, ready to meet the hard surface…

Instead her knees fell into freezing snow. But the snow didn't seem right. It was all red. Everywhere around the courtyard was the crimson snow and bodies littered about, colouring any white that was left on the ground. She felt the panic constrict around her heart. William… where was William? Shaking. Not from the cold but from fear, fear she had never known before. "William?" She called out, her voice disappearing into the windy atmosphere. "William!" She heard a voice answer and looked around desperately.

However, the voice didn't belong to her husband but her most trusted knight. "Alexia… I'm sorry…" It was Alfred's voice. She rose to stand, feeling the snow against her bare feet, and started to look around. But no matter where she searched among the bodies she could not find her brother.

_What's happening? Why is everyone dead? Where is William? _She thought to herself frantically as she decided to exit the courtyard. As she ran, words started to pour from her mouth into the deadly silence. It was the song. She didn't know why she was singing the frightening lullaby but at that moment she didn't care, she had more important things to worry about. She ran forward into a field where a fierce battle seemed to be taking place. She tried to squint through the snowflakes that had started to descend rapidly but she could only make out a few figures.

Suddenly a bright light started to head towards her. She didn't know what it was but she felt rooted to the spot, a feeling of impending doom drowning her completely. It hit her with painful force and she fell back onto the frozen ground. Staring upwards, the snowflakes too started to change to the color of blood and the gloomy skies above did as well…

* * *

Alexia awoke with a start, her body covered in a light sheen of sweat and her clothes rumpled. She took a few deep breaths as she tried to calm herself and rid herself of all the varying emotions she had felt in the dream. She still felt a little panic and looked over at the chair that her brother had been occupying before she had fallen asleep only to see her was no longer there. She quickly looked to her right and found him sleeping peacefully in the spot next to her. She smiled to herself, thankful to find him safe. She didn't think anything the dream had showed her to be true but it did seem to have a lasting effect on her. She lay there for some time thinking of everything that had happened in the dream but one thing that seemed to stay with her particularly was the song. Despite it's fragmented lyrics, it had been quite a beautiful song.

She couldn't resist, she needed to write it down since she didn't wish to forget it. Opening the drawer of the bedside table closest to her, she drew out a notepad and a pencil. Remembering notes and what she could of the scant libretto, she attempted writing the song. She decided to omit the part about secrets kept and ruling the kingdom as that part of the song seemed to detract from the simplistic melody of the other two verses. She hummed the tune to herself absently as Alfred started to stir from his own sleep.

He awoke with a frown upon his face, having also woken up from a troubling dream. But now being conscious of his every thought, he couldn't seem to remember anything that had happened in the nightmare. He looked up at his sister who was humming a song that he found to be entrancing. Once he had heard it a few times he looked up at Alexia and said, "That's a pretty song. What is it called?"

Alexia hadn't been aware that Alfred had been listening to her but didn't feel startled at all and instead pondered on his question. She had yet to give a name to the song she was writing down. Even though the lyrics weren't soothing, the song itself possessed qualities of a lullaby. "Berceuse." She replied tentatively. One of the subjects she studied was the French language and she recalled that berceuse meant lullaby. She placed her pencil on the bedside table and picked up her notebook from her lap to check over the words upon the page written in her own flowing cursive. A slight pressure on her vacated lap told her that Alfred had rested his head there.

"Could you sing it again?" He asked, closing his eyes again.

Alexia nodded even though she knew he brother couldn't see her and began to sing the song once again but with the words she had penned. "_There was a friendly but naïve king, who wed a very nasty queen. The king was loved but the queen was feared. 'Til one day strolling in his court an arrow pierced the kind king's heart. He lost his life and his lady love._" As she vocalized the lyrics she had begun to gently stroke Alfred's soft blond hair without realizing she was doing so.

"I was thinking when you were sleeping…" He mumbled, once again getting drowsy. "You should try to get a job with Umbrella and be a head researcher as soon as you finish University. Then maybe he'll notice you when it is announced that you're the youngest person to ever have that job, just like you noticed him when he did the same thing." Alexia simply stared down at her brother as he yawned quietly. It seemed like such a simple solution that she felt positively idiotic for not thinking of it. It may not have immediate results like she wanted but it would be worth the wait if… "Then maybe you'd be able to meet Birkin."

* * *

**I have a few author notes to add to the end of this just to clear up some stuff in case anyone is wondering.**

**1. I chose Princeton for Alexia's university simply because of aesthetics. XD; Well, that's not the only reason. I looked up some things and I found a list of universities that had good science programs and it was on the list. Plus with a motto that translates into 'Under God's power she flourishes' it just seemed perfect for Alexia. **

**2. Don't ask me about any of the torture methods I researched, I would rather forget them. DX But if you're curious, Wikipedia is your friend and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is an awesomely twisted anime. :D  
**

**3. The set-up of Alexia's bedroom is different than how the two we see in the games are, so that's why any description given does not match them. :P**

**Anywho, in other news I made up another crack pairing that I want to write a slightly AU fic about. That pairing would be RebeccaxSteve. Yeah... I don't know how that pairing came to me either. But in any case, I just wanted to see if anyone would bother reading such a fic since it's a random pairing that I'm not sure if in anyone would be interested in... So tell me your thoughts. :D**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And next we're off to university!**


	3. Where Is The One That Can Save Me?

**Beware! Graphic Content Ahead!**

Chapter III: Where Is The One That Can Save Me?

Alexia was becoming steadily very annoyed and even the beautiful architecture she had admired at first could not distract her from the bothersome feeling. It was only noon and already she had been asked more than a dozen times if she were lost and if she would like someone to find her parents. She would then coldly explain that she was quite well aware of where she was and that she was a student attending the university, much to the bafflement of whoever she spoke with. She could understand their confusion, she was only nine years old after all. But that still didn't mean she had to enjoy every time someone spouted the same overused concerned phrases. Not only had this been abhorrent but she found something else that she found slightly irksome. The child genius knew it was only the first day but the curriculum already bored her. However, she also viewed this positively. Her goal was to finish her schooling within a year, two at the very most (though that was not a desirable route). When accomplished, it would be easy to get the recognition she rightfully deserved from Umbrella and, of course, William Birkin.

And speaking of the dear doctor, Alexia had already found it in her fortune to notice one particular man who resembled him. It wasn't a striking likeness but she could see subtle similarities that were easy for her to pick out; anyone else probably wouldn't have noticed all. His name was Christian Everette and his magnetic charisma was a trait that was readily apparent to anyone within the vicinity of the dark-haired student. From all the information she had gathered of Birkin, he and Everette couldn't be more different personality-wise. Not to mention there was something about the man's inviting, insipid green eyes that made her feel disgust towards him in some part of her mind whenever he happened to catch her stealing a glance at him (much to her vexation) and that feeling wasn't born from getting caught staring. However, she still couldn't deny the fact that the two shared fairly similar facial and body structures and that was enough to gain Alexia's attention.

The girl was happy to let her mind wander to these thoughts as she strolled about campus, it distracted her from the many pairs of confused eyes openly gawking in her direction. She felt a vague happiness that she wasn't entirely sure was well-founded, after all they were two entirely different people. It just didn't seem right to experience that same emotion even if it was only a vague feeling. Alexia bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling as her thoughts danced about in her mind like a gentle flurry of snowflakes. _Don't._ She chided herself mentally. _He is not Dr. Birkin. They don't resemble each other that much and their personalities differ greatly. _Regardless of her thoughts, the corner of her mouth were still threatening to tilt upwards. _Still… I suppose…_

Her mental chatter was then interrupted. "Hey, hold on sec, kiddo." A male voice spoke as she felt a large, warm hand place itself on one of her dainty shoulders. Her first reaction was that of anger at the unwanted nickname until she turned around to face the person to whom the silky voice belonged. Unsettling jade eyes stared down into young eyes that shone like sapphires. The scathing words that she had prepared died on her lips as she stared at the man before her, who was smiling at her in the most gentle manner she had ever seen; there was a tenderness in that single expression that she didn't ever recall receiving before. "I wanted to ask you something but you just kept walking. I guess you didn't hear me then, did you?" He had a simple way of speaking compared to Alexia but just like the intellectually gifted child, the man had a certain quality about him that demanded the attention of everyone within earshot of his alluring voice.

Alexia stood silently for a moment, she wasn't about to risk sounding as shocked as she felt (though she felt is very begrudgingly, of course). With a silent deep breath, she replied, "My apologies, I'm afraid I was rather lost in my thoughts." The older man had a shadow of confusion pass over his face at hearing a child speak in such a formal way. "Also, I would it appreciate it very much if you would not refer to me as…" She stopped for a moment recalling the inane term that had been used as an address towards herself, she continued on with some disdain in her voice. "'Kiddo'… again. My name is Alexia Ashford."

"Ah, it has a nice alliteration effect." It wasn't said sarcastically or even in a mocking fashion but rather it was said in a way that it felt more like he was making a proposal of marriage to her. It made even Alexia fight to keep any sign of a blush on her face under strict control, not to mention it left her wondering how such a simple sentence produced such a reaction from her. "Well, then Miss Ashford, I'm sorry. I promise I won't ever do it again. And while we're talking, might as well get all introductions out of the way. I'm Christian Everette."

"I know," Alexia replied automatically, "You seem to be quite popular among… many people." By 'many people' Alexia meant everyone. Everyone that she saw Christian interact with so far had immediately fallen under his spell. She was reluctant to admit it but even she felt like she was being pulled in by his irresistible charm. "Now, you had a question to ask me, did you not?"

"Oh right!" Christian replied, a slight shocked remembrance added to his usual tone. "I'm kind of lost. Do you know where the chapel is?"

Alexia herself wasn't very religious, she found religion interesting but didn't really have any faith in any sort of higher being. She really wasn't entirely sure what she believed in since she had never really bothered to ponder upon a subject that she didn't care to spare some time for. However, she still knew where the university's chapel was located. She had taken upon herself the task of memorizing the Princeton campus to avoid being lost as Christian was. "Yes. It is-"

"Could you take me there?" Christian interrupted the young blond before she could rattle off directions. Alexia glared at him in anger for having her words disrupted. Christian couldn't help but shrink back a bit under the scrutiny of her powerful gaze. "Sorry but I'll probably just end up getting myself lost if I try to find my way there by myself." He apologized, adding a slightly helpless note to his voice. Alexia just nodded stiffly before walking off without a word. Christian followed beside her, that infinitely benevolent smile returning to his lips.

_We're close to the Lewis Thomas Lab so… we must head north-west in order to get to the chapel. _Alexia thought to herself, imagining a mental map as the two walked in silence towards their destination. The little girl simply stared resolutely ahead, she absolutely refused to look up at Christian whose own gaze she could feel trained solely on her. _He is most likely thinking that I should not be here. _More silence stretched between the two, suffocating them both though neither paid any attention to such tension. Alexia wasn't bothered by the quiet, however she was bothered by the blatant staring she could see from her peripheral vision. The young Ashford was quite fond of being the center of attention but for some reason she couldn't help but feel inexplicably uncomfortable. _If he wishes to say something to me he should just say it already._

As soon as she thought that, Christian then spoke as if he had been reading her mind, "How old are you?"

_I knew it. _She sighed in unhidden exasperation. Clearly, she was a child so was it really necessary to be asked that as well as the other questions she'd been bothered with? It was of no consequence what her answer was, the reaction always seemed to be the same. "I am currently nine years of age." She answered, trying to make her voice sound as civil as she could but a tune of annoyance still sang through her words. Alexia finally looked up at Christian as if challenging him to ask her yet another asinine inquiry.

However, his expression simply seemed thoughtful and vaguely pleased yet at the same time it was mixed with some darker emotion that Alexia couldn't seem to place. "That's amazing. I don't think I've ever heard of a kid going to university." He murmured, more to himself than to her. A hush descended upon them once more and Alexia found herself feeling oddly relieved that he was no longer looking at her. Eventually, Christian spoke once again, asking curiously, "What do you plan to do once you're finished here?"

"None of your business." She replied immediately but then regretted it, knowing that her response had been unnecessarily rude. "Forgive me. I am not one to engage in casual conversation. But even so, I do not see a point in telling you as I highly doubt that it could be of any interest to you." Relating future ambitions to a stranger did not seem to be anything more than a waste of time, which was the most notable reason as to why no one knew much about the girl (except for her brother). Her personal tastes and habits were for her to know alone, no one else had any reason to know of her life on a personal level. She, in return, did not desire that sort of information of anyone else either, with the exception of course of that certain doctor.

Christian chuckled quietly at her response with a gentle happiness; a low and pleasing sound. "I've never had someone talk to me so formally before. Though when you say those kind of cold words, they sound endearing." Alexia remained silent as she denied the flush lightly painting her pale face. "But I'm curious to know. I mean, what exactly does a kid genius do after finishing university?"

Alexia didn't speak for a few moments, deciding whether or not it was all right to tell Christian. She was certain she would gain recognition throughout the world as being the youngest head researcher ever. He would most likely know eventually anyway. "I want to work for Umbrella."

"That pharmaceutical company?" Christian asked with a little surprise, though really in his mind it did seem like a logical route for the girl to take. Alexia simply nodded as the chapel came into view ahead of them. It was a majestic building made of stone with windows of stained glass, encompassing a feeling that was Gothic in nature. She could have left and gone back to Pyne Hall and back to her room, but it was such a breathtaking structure Alexia decided that she wanted a closer look of the chapel. "That's a pretty high profile company. Why do you want to work for them specifically?" He was pretty sure that Umbrella's rival companies would love such intellect working for them.

"My grandfather co-founded the company. It just seemed fitting for me to work for them." She replied easily though she was all too well aware of what a heinous lie that was. While she spoke all her mind could think to scream very rapidly was, _William Birkin! You look like him. Did you know that? Anyway, I want to finish attending Princeton as soon as possible and work for Umbrella. Then I can finally meet him. Yes, I know… I haven't even met him yet, shameful isn't it? Oh well, I am just so excited. I hope this year goes by fast. And if I have to stay here for more than a year I'll… _Alexia immediately put a stop to her child self and the incessant juvenile words she spoke. Never would she allow herself to speak such nonsense aloud (as true as that nonsense might be).

Christian wasn't really informed as to Umbrella's history; so the name 'Ashford' hadn't really meant much to him when Alexia had first introduced herself. "Wow, I didn't realize you had ties to the business. It's good that you already know what you want to do. I really have no idea since I'm not really all that interested in molecular biology." He commented with as slight shrug as they were becoming ever-closer to the beautiful chapel.

"Then why did you choose to study it?" She questioned. It seemed odd to her when it cost quite a bit of money to attend Princeton, not to mention the other things required for admission. Given his natural allure and heavenly voice, she figured one of the arts programs would be better suited to him. _But who I am to assume something like that? I do not really know him at all. I'm sure he must have his own reasons for studying molecular biology just like I have mine. _It made her wish she could retrieve her words from the tranquil air.

Christian simply shrugged again in response and stopped walking, standing before the large structure looming over them. "So what do you think of the chapel?"

"The architecture is absolutely stunning." She breathed looking at the stone building with masked awe.

"Yeah, I think so too." He lowered his gaze from the sacred place and turned his vision towards Alexia. "Thanks for showing me the way but I already knew how to get here."

Alexia quickly moved her eyes from the chapel to Christian jade eyes. "You already knew? Then why did you request that I show you how to get here?"

An innocent yet playfully devious smirk placed itself on the man's features. "I'm not exactly as clever as you are. So how else was I supposed to talk to you?" Alexia blinked a few times in shock. It wasn't the first time someone wished to have her acquaintance but since it was Christian her pleasant blush from before came back and intensified, for no reason she could understand. Was it just because he happened to share similar features with Birkin? At the same time, it made her feel unfathomably repulsed, spreading though her entire body as if the feeling was crawling around like many insects beneath her skin. To Christian though, all he saw was an embarrassed yet flattered young girl. "Even though you seem to like acting like an adult, you're a pretty cute kid. Anyway, I have to go now." He flashed her another kind smile and gave quick wave before walking off. "See ya, Lexi."

Alexia didn't say a word of farewell, simply staying silent. _Lexi…? No one has ever called me that before…_ But at that moment she didn't particularly care about the nickname since it was her emotions that she was focusing on. She felt… strange. And she couldn't ascertain whether it was a good feeling or a bad one.

* * *

Weeks passed by and the foliage on the trees were beginning to turn lovely warm hues of orange, red, and yellow. In that time, Alexia and Christian were slowly creating the only friendship Alexia had ever known. Although, she hadn't intended for the relationship to form she was secretly quite happy to have gained a friend in Christian. Happy to make pleasant memories with someone every time they listened to the Arch Sings at Blair Hall, took strolls by the Fountain of Freedom, met by the Mather Sundial, hunted down certain books in the Firestone Library together, wandered the campus simply admiring the old buildings, or when Alexia helped Christian study Biostatistics or Neurobiology at the Frist Campus Center. All of it became ingrained into their thoughts.

However, despite her time spent with the man, she was still proceeding through her major at such an incredible rate that none of her professors knew how to keep up with her. They were beginning notice that it seemed that the child was teaching herself the curriculum along with the lectures she attended. When one of her instructors questioned her about her ambitious study habits she merely responded with, "I am not to be bothered with the fact that my fellow classmates cannot seem to grasp concepts that are rather elementary to one such as myself. I will not let their lower intelligence hinder my timely completion of my study here." Already they were contemplating on letting her take the GRE and moving onto graduate courses.

Christian also easily noticed that she was far more advanced than anyone else taking their course. 'Advanced' didn't even seem to be the proper word or strong enough to convey just how much her intelligence outmatched that of everyone, including the professors. Although the façade he showed her (not to mention everyone else) was one that was immensely entrancing, his true personality was one that was a great deal more sinister. Alexia's intellect left him feeling the strong pulls of jealousy, an emotional wildfire that was ridiculously simple to ignite where Christian was concerned. He hadn't yet acted or shown any sign as to his envious nature. But on the day of the first snowfall, instead of going to the Holder Courtyard with some of his other friends he spent time with Alexia at Blair Hall, listening to the harmonic sounds that filled the building. It was there that Alexia informed him of her nearing completion of her undergraduate courses. And it was there that his envy reached its breaking point.

He had left her with a delicate and genuine smile upon her face after congratulating her with a sincerity that seemed positively angelic, as if he should have donned a halo and a pair of pure white wings to go along with the gospel melody surrounding them. He had returned to his lonely yet strangely extravagant dorm room back at Lockhart Hall where he shifted through his constantly replenished stash of various bottles filled with strong alcohol. Making himself a drink, he began to think about what the pretty young girl had told him. He was quite fond of Alexia but that affection didn't destroy his selfish ways. How could it be that a child could be succeeding so easily in life whereas he was constantly on the verge of falling apart?

His guise of self-confidence suggested otherwise of course, but that's all it was: a mask. Christian was worlds different than the persona he put forth in day-to-day life. In reality, Christian was a lazy, self-centered alcoholic whose memories plagued him in ways that compromised greatly the well-being of his sanity. If those memories didn't exist or the events that created them didn't happen, he often wondered if he would've been more like the self-assured person he invented for himself? However, those internal struggles of regret were not what concerned him.

Picking up his special knife, he flopped down on the couch, lightly dragging the memento's blade across the fabric of the armrest, and lost himself in thought as he sat in the darkness while lazily watching the snowflakes that drifted down from the blackened sky. Why did everything have to go right for that little girl? Did she even know what disappointment felt like? Never once had he seen any sort of misfortune befall her. What right did she have in walking about with such an air of aloofness and, from time to time, one of sadness? What could possibly make her feel unhappy? With the life she lived, she should have been walking around being downright ecstatic.

That's when an idea started slowly forming in the man's mind. Just like every other human she too deserved to experience the acrid taste of failure. And where better to strike her than where her academic career was concerned? But he wondered how he should go about such a feat. He definitely could not outdo her with his own limited intelligence against her expansive knowledge. No, he needed to use the gifts allotted to him. That gift, he knew, lay in his ability to captivate those around him and manipulate them as he wished. Alexia however seemed to be able to resist most of his enchantment simply using her determined willpower. Someone else would need to be the victim of his charm. And he soon decided upon his target. Professor Valentina Svargas, a woman that was enraptured with Alexia's genius but was just as enthralled by Christian as a person, thus seemed easy enough to bend to his will.

It was the very next day that Christian decided to follow-through with his plan. He stayed after that day's lecture, waiting until everyone else had filed out of the room (telling Alexia he would meet with her later) and only the two of them remained. After he silently locked the door, Christian looked at the woman thoughtfully as she shifted through various papers, unaware of his lingering presence in the room. Valentina was a woman in her early thirties with fiery red hair and green eyes. But unlike Christian's eyes, Valentina's were the coloring of shimmering emeralds; bright with knowledge, confidence, and vitality. If his attentions did not already belong to another, he was sure that there was a good possibility he would have sought to gain more intimate relations with the pretty professor.

Quietly, he casually sauntered over to the woman, only offering a small smile when she looked up once she noticed he was standing there. "Oh, Mr. Everette!" She exclaimed in a hidden fluster. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Actually there is, professor." He murmured in reply. "I have something to ask of you." He decided that it was best not to waste time and not give Valentina the chance to think logically. Seduction was best executed quickly so the lust that clouded all thought did not clear and afford time for retreating to reason. So he removed the papers from her hands and closed the distance between them, placing one hand on her hip and letting a few fingers sneak their way beneath her pink blouse, allowing them to rest on her soft skin. With the other hand, he gently tipped her chin upwards and gazed directly into her eyes.

"What are you d-…?" Valentina demanded with a tremble in her voice but it was easy to tell that she fully understood what he intended to do. Even if she hadn't, it was made very clear within the next following moments. Christian pressed his lips softly to the older woman's before sliding his tongue into her mouth, meeting with no resistance from the instructor. Gently exploring her mouth, he moved his hands away from their positions and began to slowly undo the buttons of her top then threw it aside.

Breaking away from the tender kiss, he started to lightly lead a trail of warm kisses up her jaw until his lips were close to her ear. "Valentina," His whispered intimately, sending a shiver of delight to shudder through the woman and made her feel lightheaded, "I want you to do something for me." His speech took on a husky tone, giving a devilish sound to his angelic voice.

"Anything." She whimpered helplessly as she felt his hands travel up her sides, feeling like hellfire traveling across her skin.

Christian smiled, pleased at how smoothly his plan was going. "I want you to make Alexia Ashford feel unintelligent for once. I want you to make her to fail this course." He explained slowly in a murmur. This was where he expected there might be a little bit of persuasion needed but he was wrong.

For Valentina Svargas, at that moment, could only vaguely remember who the Ashford girl was. Smart and young, that was all she could remember. "Of course." She breathed in submission. All she cared about was the close proximity between Christian and herself, the way his gentle hands felt on her body, the feeling of his hot breath on her exposed skin…

* * *

_How can this be happening? This is completely impossible! I… I am the most intelligent person I've ever known… I… there must be some kind of mistake…_ Alexia lay very still on her bed, her face pressed into a white pillow as she gazed out into the cloudy nighttime sky out the window across the room. She was completely baffled by the news she had received from the red-headed professor earlier. She also felt extremely angry and vaguely depressed. She couldn't think of any logical reason to why the professor that thought so highly of her would grade her so badly. Never in her life had Alexia had such a disappointing mark in any subject, let alone one she held great interest in.

Christian had tried to cheer up the unhappy girl but she deflected all his efforts and retreated to her dorm after her explosion of anger erupting towards Valentina. She had immediately crawled in her bed upon her arrival in the simple but private living quarters and had stayed there as the hours dragged by. She knew it was only one course but even one class was one too many for her to be doing poorly in. 'Poorly' was never an adjective that had ever been associated with herself and she was not pleased with it now having some semblance of relevance in her life.

She had briefly wondered if she should inform her father in one of their bi-weekly correspondences or bother ranting to Alfred in her frequent letters to him. But she was still in too much shock to even pick up a pen or a piece of paper to scrawl any words of the distressing news. She also felt sporadic waves of denial, which would be countered by self-doubt, but another wave would later return. _Perhaps she's jealous of my superior intellect? … No, no… that couldn't be it… She did not show any signs of having any envy in her… Professor Svargas even seemed to be… upset upon telling me… _She didn't want to think of anything too specific about the event, _…about it… _

She sighed sadly, closing her eyes and burying her face deeper into her pillow as she began to feel the strong pull of sleep beckoning her. _I wonder what Dr. Birkin would think… ? Would he be as furious as I was when I found out… or… _She noticed that her stomach began experiencing an odd sinking sensation that wasn't enjoyable, _…would he be disappointed in me? _She shook her head as if the thought would simply fly away from her mind with the action but no such thing happened. It just stayed there, floating idly. _But since there is no possible way he would know… he simply must not care at all… _In a way, it wasn't a horrible thought but it was by far not a comforting one either. Not wanting to think about her misfortune anymore, Alexia let herself drift off into troubled sleep.

The next morning, she wrote the two notes for her family members before heading off to the Frist Campus Center to check her own mail before she delivered the letters. She turned the combination lock the required amount of times, stopping on the correct numbers, then opened it. There was only a solitary letter sitting there, waiting to be opened and have its contents read. She lazily retrieved it from it place in the small box and opened it without bothering to look at the address, simply assuming it to be a letter from someone in her family. However, she almost dropped the other items in her other hands upon seeing the familiar symbol on the page, the white and red logo of Umbrella. Immediately, she began to read it with great haste. It read:

_Dear Miss Alexia Ashford,_

_It has come to my attention that you excel greatly in your current major of molecular biology at Princeton. Due to this, your skills would be very welcome here at Umbrella Corp. Normally, I would not hire one so very young and especially in such a line of work however your grades would be exceptional even if you were a full grown woman. _

_Now, I am readily offering you a station of employment within the company as soon as you finish your schooling. I assume that you will want to finish before joining the company. The title that I wish to bestow upon you is that of 'head researcher' at your father's lab since all research there seems to be at a stand still. Some fresh ideas from a young lady like yourself could prove to be very valuable to the company.So, if you are interested in accepting this proposal then please respond to this letter as soon as possible._

_Respectfully yours,  
Lord Ozwell E. Spencer_

Alexia had to keep herself from outright sprinting to a table to immediately write a response, whipping out a pen and piece of paper from her bag almost violently. She didn't care if her father had begged Spencer to consider her as an employee or if Spencer spied on her, she almost didn't care at that moment whether or not her reply to the offer was formal or not. However, she tried her best to answer in a polite and concise manner while conveying her enthusiasm to work for the company but tried not to seem to eager either.

_It seems everything might be able to work out to my favour despite the slight mishap with professor Svargas._ She tried to fight the smile threatening to brighten her face but she kept it in stoic check as she finished up preparing the third letter she needed to send. And as she dropped it off to where it needed to be in order to be delivered, all she could think was, _Dr. Birkin… I'll finally meet him._

* * *

Much time passed between that joyous day and the day that would prove to be a nightmare. In the months that had sped by, Alexia had righted her previous unacceptable marks in Svargas' class by getting the woman fired from her job for wrongfully giving her a low grade. Alexia had also been moved on to her graduate courses, which she studied with great fervor. The girl had also informed Christian of the important letter she had received from the well-known company. She noted with some confusion that while the man had seemed to genuinely congratulate her, he had avoided her for a little while after that, then returned with his usual friendliness as if nothing had happened. Aside from that slight strange occurrence, the year had been going quite well.

It was early on a gorgeous spring evening and the Ashford girl walked about the campus in a content manner after deciding that she deserved a small break from her endless hard work. Unfortunately, the girl hadn't been well-versed in all the various traditions that took place within the university. That day was April 24th or more commonly known to the student body as 'Newman's Day'. Alexia didn't realize that on Newman's Day it was tradition for students to attempt to drink twenty-four beers within twenty-four hours. But it was easy to perceive the many intoxicated people stumbling around her, holding bottles or cans of the frothy liquor. It was bothersome, to say the least, that her tranquil stroll was broken up by drunken mumblings and random shouting. She wasn't opposed to alcohol itself but she was opposed to the ridiculous behavior it could cause.

Wanting to avoid an outburst of annoyance when she was supposed to be relaxing, Alexia turned around to head back to her dorm. Instead of meeting with the previously clear path, she met with Christian standing before her. A small smile crossed her lips in greeting but slowly dissolved just a little as she caught sight of a bottle hanging limply in his grasp. "You cannot seriously be taking part in this idiocy." She stated bluntly in an unimpressed tone.

Christian motioned with the bottle slightly and slurred while returning her smile, "Tradition." He took light swig of the bottle and Alexia surmised that he must've been fairly far gone considering his speech patterns, body movements, and the blood-shot look in his eyes, not to mention the fact that it was eight in the evening and it seemed he'd been keeping up with the hours very well in terms of bottles. He eyed her warily for a moment (succeeding in making Alexia experience once again that odd uneasiness she still sometimes felt around him) before he asked, "Hey, wann' hang out-at my room?"

Alexia's first reaction was to feel dubious as to Christian's request but then dismissed the inkling of any ill intuition. She never admitted to him or vocalized it in any way, but she trusted the older man more than she had ever trusted anyone else besides her brother. So she answered along with a nod, "All right. Your room is located at Lockhart Hall, correct?" Alexia decided that spending time with one drunk instead out in a campus full of them was a much more agreeable situation. Also she was somewhat curious to see what kind of dorm Christian had gotten. He'd mentioned that he had no roommate at all and that the large dorm was sometimes akin to a lonely apartment. Alexia's own dorm was also a single room but her room was small though it was still to her liking.

"Yeah, les' go." Christian mumbled drunkenly as he wandered off towards the hall where his dorm was located, leading Alexia towards the small beautiful building. Christian fumbled with the door and attempted to blink his vision into clarity as Alexia tried her best to wait with patience. At length, the man eventually managed to stumble into the living quarters and Alexia followed in after him, closing the door behind her. As Christian went about the living room area placing the items in his hands where he deemed them (not even bothering to turn any lights on), the young girl looked around the large area. Christian had been quite right in saying that it was more like a large apartment than a dorm. For one person it was more than enough room. The room even had enough space for a fireplace! "You can si' down. Wann' me to make ya something' to eat?" He asked in his strange speech, though he still seemed to be holding onto that blessed voice he possessed.

Alexia sat down on the black couch that faced the regal fireplace. "No, I am not currently all that hungry. In any case, are you sure you should be cooking in your current state?" She inquired, looking over her shoulder towards the kitchen area.

"I'm fine." Christian replied as he moved various dishes around the area but then stopped what he was doing abruptly. "Hey, Lexi wanna tour of the place?" He questioned, exercising as much control over his voice as he could manage. He knew he would probably never get to have a chance like this ever again, so why not take the opportunity?

Alexia looked around the entirety of the conjoined living room space and kitchen section. There were only two other doors aside from the one they had entered from and the girl could only assume that one led to a bathroom and the other to a bedroom. She started to get a feeling like her thoughts were trying to pull her towards them, to listen to them. They were telling her to leave. To leave immediately. But without just cause to do so, the girl just shrugged. "Certainly." She replied politely.

Christian then went to a door located to the right of the couch and motioned for her to follow him. She got off the couch despite that the growing dread that was pulling at her violently like a game of tug of war. The dark-haired man opened the door and signaled for her to go in, "Ladies firs'." Alexia just smiled at her friend before entering the darkness of the room. She scanned about the room, making out some silhouettes in the descending darkness. It was a nice room though not that big in comparison to the rest of the place. But Alexia didn't get the chance to appraise the room any further for suddenly everything became a whirl of motion as she felt arms wrapped around her body, leaving her very little time to struggle. As soon as everything came to a halt, Alexia could feel the blankets of the bed beneath her and as for what was above her, all she could see were a pair of pale green eyes.

"Christian, what are you…?" Alexia began, keeping her voice as steady as it would be normally. She refused to let the strange circumstance override her control over her nerves.

"C'mon, you're a clever girl, what d'you think?" He murmured as he brushed some of her golden locks away from her face as he smiled but it wasn't in his usual friendly and charming manner, instead it was a lecherous smirk. Alexia felt her stomach flip-flopping in disgust and denied fear, a level of repulsion she wasn't ever aware she could experience physically. It was then that she realized why those jade eyes unsettled her. There was something about them that made them perfect for leering and seducing, making you feel vulnerable and shamed. She wanted to scream, she really did but nothing seemed to want to escape from her throat. At the same time, she also didn't want to show she was afraid.

"Lexi, d'you like bed-time stories?" The girl didn't say a word. "Well, I'll tell ya one anyway." He leaned over her and opened the drawer to the bedside table then retrieved an object that gave a small glimmer in the dying sun. He closed the drawer and then showed her the item. It was a knife. A tantō to be exact. It had a black hilt decorated with gold just above and the entire blade seemed to be stained with blood. "This shouldn' be here, know why? 'Cause this is actually evidence of a double homicide." Christian explained and Alexia's sinking feeling only increased, beginning to show in her expression. "Oh don' worry, Lexi. I've never used it on anyone yet. No, this is my reminder of that day. I bet you wouldn't understand what it's like to watch the two people you care most abou' kill each other, huh?" He regarded the knife thoughtfully for a moment as if reliving the painful and damaging memories. "These tantō are used mainly for stabbin'. So guess wha' my mum did with this?" He made a few stabbing motions toward Alexia, who focused only on staying silent. "Then my dad shot her right here," he gently placed the dull edge of the blade right on her forehead, "An' then they were both dead."

_I cannot lose control, stay calm. _Alexia took a deep breath and forced her voice to start working once again as the man removed the blade and placed it in his left hand. "Christian, I…"

But he interrupted her as if she hadn't even spoke, "I won't hurt you, Lexi. You do make me pretty angry sometimes but I jus' can't seem to ignore your blue eyes, your pretty hair, how you smell…" Christian dipped his face into the crook of her neck, kissing her soft skin sweetly. He started to undo the buttons on her shirt beginning from the bottom. Alexia truly thought she was going to vomit but couldn't move, paralyzed by all the negative emotions. Then it seemed she suddenly remembered that she was still technically merely a nine year old girl despite her mature mental age. For whatever reason, that seemed to jumpstart her panic.

First, it began with a little hyperventilation until it quickly escalated to her thrashing around and screaming as loud as her voice would go. Obviously not wanting to get caught, Christian decided to silence her with a kiss. But, of course, that only made things worse. Her eyes began to want to water. _No! No, crying! You're stronger than this! Just close your eyes… now pretend it's Dr.Birkin… …No! He would never do this! No! No, this is wrong! NO! _She tried to push the man away from her small body but since he liked to frequent the Stephens Fitness Center and was an adult male, he had more strength than she did. _I am not letting this happen! Not to me!_ She thought defiantly as she began to reach around her, grabbing the first thing her fingers touched. An uncapped pen.

Christian pulled away upon feeling her grab something but just as he opened his eyes to look he soon had a pen plunged into his right eye, bursting the blood vessels in the choroid, and letting the crimson fluid paint his face. As he screamed in agony, trying to swing his knife madly, Alexia rolled onto the floor and escaped from the room. Once out of the room she looked around for some sort of item of defense. She wasn't going to just run away. Not one soul got away with doing something so foul to an Ashford. Her eyes landed on the black iron fire poker, sitting innocently in its holder beside the fireplace. She lunged for the make-shift weapon right away and then faced the door to the bedroom where the painful howling was beginning to die away.

Christian soon stumbled out of the darkness of the room. "Alexia… why?" He pleaded almost like a broken child, his face streaked with tears and blood.

Alexia's grip tightened on the iron held in her fingers and a darker expression covered her face. "Why? Well, I would think that much would be obvious." She growled venomously. _No turning back now. _"I cannot believe I put my trust in such a despicable, worthless being. Desperate and superficial. I am ashamed to think I wasted my precious time with someone as wretched as you. I cannot think of anything more lowly than attacking a child for a life you only wish you had. You're an absolute waste of a human being."

Christian's heart seemed to break and yet at the same time healed, as if he had needed someone to tell him those words. He needed affirmation that he was exactly as he thought he was, not what everyone else perceived of him. It ended his long-battle with indecision. He wanted it now, that death she was willing to give him. In so many words, she had stated what he already knew. His life was not needed in the world. He dropped the tantō to the floor and removed the writing utensil from his eyeball, though it hurt more than any other physical pain he had known before (aside from the initial stabbing). "Okay, Lexi." He outstretched his hands toward her, beckoning his angel of death towards him. "I'm ready."

Alexia wasn't sure what her words had changed in Christian but she wasn't about to lose resolve. Quickly rushing toward him, she swung the fire poker with all her strength towards his shins but not finding any real satisfaction in the sickening crack the action produced. Christian fell to the floor, screaming in distress. "I'm sorry." He choked out before Alexia started blindly bringing the iron into contact with him again.

"Shut up!" She shrieked at him, her voice wavering dangerously. Why was it that it was now that all she could think about was all the good and happy memories they shared together? "Don't say a word!"

Christian didn't listen to her request though and continued to speak. "Thank you for everything, Alexia." As the stoker was raised above her head, ready to strike again, she watched him speak and in that moment, in the darkness, he looked remarkably like William. She hesitated for a moment but her body reacted before her mind seemed to command her arms to lower the weapon to hit the victim of the blows again.

_Dr. Birkin… I… I…_ As blood began splatter everywhere, tears began to roll rapidly down Alexia's small face. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She just kept screaming the same thing over and over again as the rod connected again and again with Christian's body; arms, legs, abdomen, head. But even through Christian's shouts of anguish, all Alexia could see was William's mangled body. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Her attacker's body lay still and she soon dropped her weapon to the floor as she too sank to the floor, landing numbly on her knees. She crawled over weakly to the broken corpse and gathered it in her arms, getting herself covered in gore. "I'm sorry… I… Dr. Birkin… I… Why?! Why did I do this?!" Her body shook with sobs and adrenaline and panic and sadness.

_That's not Dr. Birkin. _A small but mature voice whispered in her mind. It seemed even in extreme situations, Alexia couldn't let go of her logic. _That is Christian. A filthy, inferior being. He sexually assaulted you if you can recall. _She shook her head. "Dr. Birkin would never do that to me!" She insisted to herself as she rocked with the body back and forth. _Of course, he wouldn't but Christian did. _"Christian?" Alexia then looked down at the body, studying the face closely before quickly dropping it to the floor as she was finally drawn back to reality. She stood up abruptly and began to pace. _What do I do now? I'm covered with blood, there's a body on the floor, and many people must have heard what was happening. _She paced for a few more minutes, letting the repetitive steps lull her into a semi-tranquil state of being. _Father. He is the only one I can depend on right now. Unfortunately._

She went to Christian's phone and dialed the number for her home back in England. As the phone rang, she detachedly stared at the body she had been previously mourning and instead began thinking how sinfully simple it had actually been to extinguish a life. Although her reason was now in control, the infatuated child was still crying and wailing in her mind. She paid it no heed though as she calmly explained to her father what had happened. Luckily for Alexia, Umbrella really desired her intelligence and that the company also happened to be good at covering up such incidents without any negative repercussions. However, legal repercussions should have been the least of Alexia's worries.

* * *

Alexia finished all her schooling in Princeton, earning herself a PhD in molecular biology. Not only that but she also had the highest marks of her class. She had been interviewed by newspapers and now she was sure that many (including her dear doctor) would know of her superior abilities. She was even pleased with the newspaper clip itself:

_A 10 year old girl genius graduated at the top of her class, from a prestigious university._

_The international corporation, Umbrella Chemical Inc., offered the position of head researcher._

All of this had pleased her greatly however all of her happiness could not keep away the nightmares that visited her every time she slept. All she could keep seeing over and over, was not Christian, but Dr. Birkin being the one receiving her brutal attacks. Her perception of reality had become blurred as well. Times she had spent with Christian she sometimes instead remembered it taking place with Dr. Birkin though part of her knew that she had never met the man so she knew it could not be possible. Still she couldn't help but wonder every time she awoke, _I won__'t kill him as well when I meet him, will I?_

* * *

**First off, sorry this took so long but it's a long chapter so it was worth the wait… right? Anyway, some things to clarify.**

**1. I chose Pyne Hall because the picture I found of it reminded me of Raccoon University from Oubreak. XD Plus, it also had single dorm rooms.**

**2. Christian Everette and Valentina Svargas are mine. -glomp OCs- I was just too lazy to come up with new characters so I just subbed them into this story.**

**3. I tried to be as accurate as possible with my information on Princeton. I don't really know anything about university, let alone the specifics to the university featured here. All my researching is also why it took so long to get to this chapter up. X.x;**

**4. Started titling my chapters (if you didn't notice XD) because I wanted to add in my mock soundtrack for this somewhere. XD I'll add disclaimers and such at the end of this fic.**

**5. Thanks to MA-121 for the idea of the tantō!**

**6. Newspaper clip is courtesy of Capcom. :)**

**Anyway, I think that's all for now. Leave a review if you like. Now onward to the next chapter!**


	4. Don't You Drink Their Poison Too

Chapter IV: Don't You Drink Their Poison Too

A few months passed and Alexia found herself in the Antarctic Labs of Umbrella. While she was pleased with her success, she had yet to receive any word of congratulations from Dr. Birkin. But she was not yet persuaded to lose her optimism. After all, she had not sent him any letter of praise when he too had accomplished the same feat (and being but seven years old at the time was no excuse for her behavior). So instead of pining over the lack of attention, she focused on the arrival of her brother and father at the labs.

While Alexia resided in the Antarctic, Alfred had been forced to remain in England. Not that he hadn't desperately attempted to join his sister in the isolated, frozen land of course. He had pleaded and begged with his father (something that the boy rarely allowed himself to do) but to no avail. Alexia was certain that she could have swayed her father's decision but she was the one that wished for her sibling to remain in Europe. She was aware that it was somewhat a decision of cruelty considering how much Alfred hated everything about their home (excepting herself when she had lived there) but she did not wish for any distractions from her work. For this reason, she also ordered her doting father to stay at home, allowing both only to visit once every two months. The young researcher could only imagine the tangible tension smothering the Ashford Manor.

Because of these visits, which Alexia figured she would find to be quite frequent, she had ordered for bedrooms to be built, including one for herself. The girl refused to use any sleeping quarters used by her father and had begrudgingly taken to sleeping in her office until their completion, for she would rather be uncomfortable than use a room that belonged to Alexander or spend any time in the living quarters of the employees, who were obviously quite below her rank. The rooms that were built upon her request weren't nearly as lavish as the ones in England but they still had a sense of pointless elegance. However, as of yet, the construction of the bedrooms had been the most excitement the Umbrella employees had seen since Alexia had become head researcher. Though Alexia needed very little time to be caught up to the type of research that Umbrella was conducting (the nature of which, she was a little surprised to find, didn't bother her in the least), she hadn't exactly made any progress so far.

Life at the labs proved to be not much different than life at home or university for Alexia, only it was slightly more interesting. Some small secret hope had nestled its ways inside her mind, a hope that maybe, just maybe, that they wouldn't view her as just a demanding child or that uncontrollable jealousy wouldn't permeate the air; that they would simply exalt her. But of course, it was the opposite of the reality she desired. But Alexia had an effective way to remedy this disappointment._It's better this way. If they liked me, I might be forced to pretend that I actually like them. A queen doesn't need her peons to like her, she just requires them to do her biding. This is exactly the same. _And so most of her time was spent in solitude, or at least as much time as she could possibly spend on her own.

Alexia stood in the hangar waiting with feigned impatience, she truly had nothing else of importance to see to but acted that way simply because it was in her usual nature. However, she was beginning to feel a bit antsy as the seconds passed by like minutes. She really didn't know why, she was never all that happy when her guests came to visit for a week or so. Certainly, she would be all smiles for them and be as amiable as was expected of her but she never really found any real joy in seeing them. Then again that joylessness was applicable to anyone she saw, a way of being that mixed strangely with her previous hope of being accepted by her fellow researchers. Still, people became more of a nuisance day by day and she tried to spend as much time solitarily as possible.

She knew why she had such a dislike of people now (or at least a greater dislike than she had previously had) but she refused to acknowledge the fact any change in her character had taken place. Over the few months, she had tried to forget any memories she had of university but those remembrances still seemed to float about in a ghostly fashion within her mind. There was only one person in the entire universe who she still wished to meet. She was convinced nothing would ever change her mind, nothing would deter her determination. _Dr. Birkin…_

She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of the blades of a helicopter, the chopper slowly landing before her. She planted a welcoming smile onto her small lips, shivering in the freezing air that filled the room despite the extra layers of clothing she had specifically put on to fight the low temperature. She welcomed her guests back for their second visit, her brother was beaming with joy while her father beamed with pride. Alexia spouted empty words of happiness at their arrival and showed Alfred to his new room before excusing herself to retire to her own bedroom that was right beside his. With Umbrella constantly questioning her about any results in her research, she had been working tirelessly. She now had a tendency to work all day and night, only taking a few hours to sleep every morning. If she didn't make some progress soon she was somewhat… afraid that Umbrella might then ignore her genius and terminate her employment.

Changing into a nightgown, Alexia climbed into bed and laid down with a yawn. _I must think of something… but how can I manipulate the strand of the virus they gave me into something new and interesting? Something of value… _She sighed quietly, wondering how it was possible that she, a girl with unmatched brilliance, could not formulate some plan, some idea, for a job she had worked so very hard for. She let her eyes fall shut heavily, wanting to forget for just a while about her work and Umbrella. She wanted to dream of something pleasant, something transcendent, something ethereal. Love.

* * *

And then she woke up however she did not wake up in reality. Her eyes instead opened upon a dream world, a dream world tinted red. But the overall colour clouding her vision was secondary in her thoughts compared to the pair of familiar eyes gazing back into her own. Although she could not see the colour, Alexia could somehow feel that they were the same shade of clear blue that her own eyes held. The small face held a worried expression streaked with tears.

"Mommy," the young girl whispered with concern, "Mommy, your tummy… your tummy hurts, doesn't it?" Alexia sat up, feeling confused at the girl's words but at the same time realized that they were true. She couldn't physically feel the pain but she knew it was there, searing through her stomach as if it were about to burst from the inside. She looked down at her stomach only to see it bulging beneath the peach gown.

She looked back up at the mirror image of herself and stroked the girl's blond hair soothingly. She felt herself looking at this child with so much adoration and pride, two emotions that she didn't think she would ever feel toward another person, real or imaginary. Yet somehow, the unborn child causing her pain seemed to be more dear to her heart. "Do not worry, my dear. Mommy will be having a baby soon. And then we all shall be very happy."

The young child shook her head vehemently. "But Mommy, it's hurting you really, really bad! I don't like the thing in your tummy at all!" The girl was quiet for a moment and Alexia took a moment to look around the room. It was a plain room, the only furniture in the room being the bed Alexia sat on. Everything was covered in silky sheets floating in the winter wind that was seeping through the roots and thorns that covered the windows. It looked like she was in the tower of a familiar castle. "You should get rid of it, mommy."

"Don't be silly, dear. Once the baby is born, I am sure that you will love your new brother or sister." Alexia cooed lovingly to the little girl. But the child didn't want to listen, she believed that she knew what was best for her mother. She promptly started crying again before running off, clutching to the skirts of a woman standing in the opposite corner of the room. Alexia hadn't noticed the woman standing there before but she recognized the figure that was legendary among the Ashford clan. Veronica Ashford.

"'Ronica! 'Ronica Mommy won't listen to me! Tell her that the baby is bad! The baby is hurting Mommy!" She sobbed into the purple skirts as the woman tried her best to console the girl but she did so in a detached manner. Veronica looked up and simply stared at Alexia in a chilling manner, but Alexia refused to remove her gaze from her ancestor.

"Well, what shall you do?"

"I will keep this child, of course. My children are important to me." Alexia answered, unmoved by her other child's tears. However, Alexia couldn't seem to fathom exactly why her unborn child was so essential to her considering the constant pain it put her through. But she refused to give up a baby that was so inexplicably close to her heart.

"Very well. Though you should know that little Veronica here has been waiting so very long for your return. You have been asleep for many years." The elder Veronica replied, motioning to the young Veronica still clinging to her regal dress. "However, if that baby is of such significance to you then you must keep it regardless of the repercussions."

Alexia was about to ask Veronica of what consequences she spoke of but before she could a new scene began to play in her dreams. Red. There was red absolutely everywhere and this time it wasn't just the tainted color of the dream itself. No, it was definitely blood. Alexia could almost feel the thick crimson fluid dripping warmly from her hands and mouth, staining her innocent peach taffeta gown with an eerie shade of red. But where did it come from? She looked down at the person the blood belonged to. William Birkin, his entire torso torn to ribbons and Alexia was clearly able to see the mutilated organs scattered about his body.

Alexia felt as if she were about to be very sick but a feeling in her stomach told her to keep eating. But she couldn't. She examined his body and also noticed the strewn bits of fabric in colors that reminded her of dragonflies, feeling like she could feel the insects writhing within her mouth and stomach. But what was more distracting was the eagle chained to his right wrist, trying desperately to fly away and she could see it's heart pumping furiously… on the outside of its chest. It made her hungry again.

"Are you quite satisfied now?"

Alexia turned around suddenly, only to see her ancestor once more, looking at her with a perfectly stoic expression. The young Ashford stood up carefully, casting one last glance at William and wondering why she would ever kill her beloved in such a way. "What do you mean?" She questioned Veronica. "Why is this happening? And where is my little Veronica?"

"Veronica is now a part of you."

"What do you mean she is a part of me now?"

"You ate her. Do you not remember? That unborn child of your's… Venus I believe you called her… she made you devour young Veronica."

"You're lying! You must be!" Alexia screamed immediately, but she knew her denial would fix nothing. "No, I'll get them back… I'll get them back…" She wasn't entirely sure what happened next or what she did but suddenly she began vomiting up everything she had eaten, blood and distorted body parts mixing in a pile of acid on the floor. Collapsing to the ground, she began to futilely try to put the parts back together. But slowly ants began to crawl from the gore and eat the mess on the ground. "Get away! Don't touch her, you stupid creatures!"

At that point, Veronica went over to Alexia and attempted to calm her down. "Stop, Alexia. Those ants are all that's left of Veronica. Those ants are Veronica." Her words seemed to work. Alexia stopped thrashing about but tears came down her face in waterfalls, cascading in trails of sorrow and hopelessness. "Protect them, they're all you have left." Alexia nodded and then the scene quickly changed again.

Veronica was gone, William's corpse was gone, the vomit on the ground was gone. Alexia was alone and clutching her stomach fiercely. It had never hurt that much before. "Venus… calm down. I'll find you more food. You must wait." She whispered to her stomach through clenched teeth. But the unborn child of love would not wait and Alexia could feel the girl chewing her way out from the inside until she felt something bite her arm. She pulled both arms away and peered down at her stomach in horror. What she saw wasn't a baby, she would never consider the monster dwelling inside her body a baby. "Get back inside, don't come out." She pleaded but crimson fluid began to cover her body and the monster named Venus continued to content itself with chewing on her mother's internal organs. But still… Venus was still so very dear to her… so very dear…

* * *

Alexia awoke with a start and her hands went instinctually to her stomach. The scientist breathed a sigh of relief to find nothing amiss and settled back into the bed. She glanced at the clock and deemed it was time to get ready for another day of what she thought would probably hold nothing more than disappointing results. After dressing herself and doing all other necessary things she believed were needed to look presentable, she made her way towards her personal office. However, along the way she heard a sound of glass crashing followed by much vulgar cursing.

Annoyed and curious, Alexia made her way towards the sounds until she arrived at the door of one of her staff. She knocked politely, inquiring as to what the problem was and asked if she may enter. When she didn't receive a reply, she huffed with impatience and after a moment or two, entered regardless of permission. "What is going on in here?" She demanded as soon as she walked in, watching with vague interest at the antics of the researcher frantically moving about the bed.

"I was trying to move my ant farm…" The man began to explain.

Alexia couldn't help but get a look of questioning upon her face. _Why would anyone ever think of bringing ants, of all creatures, to the Antarctic? _She thought as she crossed her arms and stared at the ants now crawling all over the sheets of the bed.

"But I accidentally tripped and the whole thing just fell all over the bed."

Alexia was not impressed with the researcher's clumsiness. "I hope," she began in a cold voice, matching her equally frozen glare, "that you don't show such carelessness while you are working."

"O-Of course not, Dr. Ashford."

Alexia more or less ignored the annoying man's reply and cast another glance to the ants that began to explore the fabric they had landed on. "Well then, what do you intend to do with these ants?" She knew that naturally there was no way the ants could survive the freezing air that captured the Antarctic but with various samples of the Progenitor around the facility there was no telling what could possibly happen to the insects if all employees proved to be as inept as the man that stood in the room with her.

"I'll exterminate them all. I believe that would be the simplest solution."

As the man began to move about to start the procedure to get rid of the insects as soon as possible, Alexia just stood for a moment. But without any warning, rage suddenly had a tight grip on her. "You will do no such thing." She ordered immediately with sibilance snaking through her voice. She pushed the man out of the way and began to collect the ants in some way. She didn't know why she was suddenly so angry for there was really no reason. Perhaps it was the dream or perhaps she didn't like the thought of the man killing innocent ants just because of his own bumbling ways. Either way she was determined to save the tiny creatures. "Leave." The man obeyed her order without a word, knowing it was best to avoid Alexia's wrath.

Alexia carefully gathered all (or at least many) of the ants back into their glass home. She then left the room and slowly made her way back to her office. Once she made the trek to the tasteful work space, she entered the small lab attached to the room setting the ants in an enclosed space and removing them from the glass container with much care. She looked at them for a bit as she began to think of what she could try with the Progenitor for that day and her mind led her back to the thought she had briefly while in the graceless researcher's room. What would happen if an ant came into contact with the Progenitor? _Though I think it would be most wise to research the ants themselves first. _

So Alexia gingerly searched for the queen ant, deciding that the mini monarch would be the best place to start. She spent hours in the small lab as she meticulously studied the tiny creature. But those hours spent with the imported fire ant queen proved to be entirely fruitless until Alexia found something strange. The queen held a strange strain of DNA that held properties that were familiar to the child genius, yet it was something she had never seen before, something that was endlessly fascinating to her.

She drew away from her work for a moment to think of plans, exhilarated by her new discovery. She needed more ants, food for the ants, inform her team of researchers of what she intended to do with the insects… _I cannot believe my good fortune in happening upon this unique virus. If my plan works as I wish it to then perhaps finally Dr. Birkin will give me the recognition and attention I deserve. _

* * *

More months passed and the month of December arrived quickly as Alexia's project made progress. She no longer lost sleep racking her brain to find a way to improve the Progenitor and to keep her position as the youngest head researcher of Umbrella. Instead life returned to the best normalcy that there could be when working for a corporation such as the pharmaceutical company. And Alexia found she had more time to spend with her family that pestered her and distracted her from her work. However, she still couldn't resist the urge to check how progress was going even when she knew she should have been visiting with them.

On the December visit, Alexia had been spending time with Alfred, admiring a portrait that now hung in the main hall replacing a picture that was once of Veronica Ashford. Alfred was scrutinizing the picture and Alexia was bored. "Don't you think there is something odd about this portrait, Alexia?" He questioned as he looked over the picture. There were random holes situated on the portrait and Alfred was certain it had something to do with the jewels the three of them possessed but he wondered what exactly it meant. Though he had to admit, the painter of the picture had successfully managed to transform the distant group into something that looked like a loving family. He thought it would be perfect if Alexander's hated figure hadn't been included.

"You're simply over thinking things, brother. As far as I know, Umbrella facilities have many meaningless little oddities. I'm sure that father is just following suit." She replied, crossing her arms and scanning about the hall, emoting a sense of ennui. She looked at the doors leading to their bedrooms (located to the left of the painting, up the stairs), the door to the right which led to where 'prisoners' (they were nothing more than guinea pigs) were kept, and finally her gaze fell longingly onto the blue doors leading towards the lab where her research was taking place. "While you contemplate Umbrella's sense of useless décor, I must go and check on my work."

"Again?" Alfred asked disappointedly and looked over to Alexia, his crestfallen expression matching the tone of his voice. He wasn't oblivious, he had noticed Alexia's increased aloofness, even towards him. Alfred had never been informed of what exactly happened at the university but Alexia always refused to talk about it, always finding something else to do or changing the topic of conversation entirely. It hurt him deeply that Alexia was acting so remote but he didn't want to press the matter in case he accidentally ended up hurting her. He would much rather die than cause his dear sister any unhappiness.

"Do not fear," she giggled light-heartedly, yet she still seemed detached, "I promise I will return." And with that, Alexia began her trip down to the lab on the floor below. Once she exited the elevator she began to walk towards the railing of the walkway, looking down below she admired the giant anthill that was slowly building. After a few moments, she turned and walked towards her office, wanting to gather a few papers from her desk. But as soon as she turned the corner, she heard the door to the lab open and heard loud talking. It was her father speaking to one of the researchers. Normally, she would have continued, but easily hearing the topic she couldn't help but eavesdrop (as rude as she knew that was).

"… Yes, that Birkin boy is insanely jealous of my sweet Alexia. I know it is horrible to say so, but it makes me feel more proud of my bright daughter. Especially, when you consider that the boy was once hailed as a prodigy himself but now he is simply eclipsed by Alexia's brilliance."

"Yes, it's no secret amongst Umbrella employees that Birkin absolutely hates Dr. Ashford."

"I have heard the same thing. I've never thought that I'd be so happy that someone loathes my daughter so completely."

Alexia didn't need to hear anymore, yet she couldn't move. It didn't matter anyway, all she could hear echoing throughout her mind were the words, "Birkin absolutely hates Dr. Ashford." She just stood there, shaking with disbelief and seething with unspoken rage. She stood there for a few minutes, barely registering the sound of the chattering dying away and the elevator rising up to the higher level. _Lies… they're lying… my father and that imbecile are rotten liars… Dr. Birkin cannot hate me. Why would he hate me? I love him so why…?_ But Alexia ceased her thoughts immediately as soon as she admitted to herself that she loved him. _Don't be silly. It isn't possible to love someone you've never met. So don't think such foolish thoughts…_ She thought as she fell against the wall, becoming the only support to keep her standing as she became dazed by her thoughts.

Still, she couldn't deny that thinking what she did felt right. It made her feel that strange happiness that she once felt when she had found his picture laying innocently among forgotten files. It made her heart leap slightly and made her want to smile despite the lies that swam through her head wickedly. _Well, that isn't important at the moment. I must make sure that this falsity isn't true. But how can I achieve that? _Her mind shifted through various ideas until she settled on one. _If this fabrication is somehow real, then perhaps if he knows that I have no ill-will against him, he may then amend his hatred. Sending a gift seems to be an acceptable offer of peace. A Christmas gift will do nicely._

Alexia mindlessly made her way back to her room, not even slightly noticing Alfred's inquiries as to her disheartened state. She closed her door and locked it behind her, ignoring her brother knocking on her door and she began to search her room. _What could I possibly give him? I need something with meaning. Something important to me. _The only item she found was a large gold pendant. Aside from the jewel she wore on her choker, the pendant was the only other heirloom Alexia owned. It was an expensive piece of jewelry, very beautiful despite its age. It opened up so that a picture could be put inside (Alexia removed Veronica Ashford's picture) and could open yet again to hide something behind it. _This will do._

Getting some paper and a pen, she sat down at her desk and began to write. In the missive, she explained the importance of the included gift, Alexia wanted him to understand she was willing to part with such a cherished object just for him. She made absolutely certain that no trace of her true feelings were shown in the letter, the girl wasn't prepared to confess her affection to him yet and definitely not through a letter. Once she finished the friendly but civil note, she began to wrap the pendant up to be received. _Hopefully, he'll like it. My father's words were poison to my mind but Dr. Birkin will surely contradict that venom. _

* * *

**And there you have chapter four of this story. Sorry, this took me so long to write. You wouldn't believe how difficult it was to research the different types of ants and come up for a reason for them to be in the one place they would never appear. X.x;**

**Anyway, on to more author notes.**

**1. The dream is a little messed up because this time I actually decided to go with what each thing meant symbolically. Luckily, most of the motifs of Code: Veronica fit with this not-so-much of a love story.**

**2. Sorry, if I went through the discovery of the virus a bit quickly, but I know next to nothing about science in general. So I didn't want to get too specific and screw things up.**

**3. Much thanks to MA-121 for the idea of the pendant. I must stop being lazy and getting ideas from you. XD**

**4. I think Venus the Zombie Fetus is my favourite character so far. XD**

**Anyway, next up we get to meet a certain doctor I know Alexia is dying to meet. ;)**


	5. Tell Me It Won't Always Be This Hard

Chapter V: Tell Me It Won't Always Be This Hard

When she had held the paper, her mind whirled at the words written upon it. The words summoned her to an Umbrella conference in America held for many important figures within the company's employ. This of course included various head researchers of important Umbrella facilities. Did that mean that Dr. Birkin would be there? Even once she arrived at the glamorous hotel the next month, all she could do was gaze around the lobby with subtle frantic fervour for the face she knew better than her own. But at the time she could not see any familiarity among the sea of strangers. With a silent disappointed huff, Alexia and her father checked into their separate rooms.

Alexia blocked out her father's meaningless chatter as the elevator ascended, her thoughts focused solely on the only important person in her world. Once the doors for the moving compartment opened, she immediately went into the direction of her room, ignoring her father's quick farewell. She reached her room easily and paid no attention to the bellhop, dismissing him without a word once all her luggage was settled. And the moment she was left alone, she allowed herself to collapse upon the bed as her mind began to race. _This is it. This is the chance I've waited for these past few years. _Those years spent in daydreams and hypothetical situations that played out in her mind were about to finally become reality. She already knew how to act, what to say, and how to carry herself. She would not let anything ruin this chance for her.

A glance over at the clock located in the room told her it was time to go to sleep. Not that she minded, of course. In fact, tomorrow seemed like it couldn't arrive fast enough. She prepared for bed and climbed beneath the comforters that were perfect for the cool spring weather. But once she settled into the bed, she found her eyes would not stay closed, and her body was not yet ready to fall asleep. All the excitement that had slowly built up over the past four years was finally starting to manifest itself physically and, as sure and confident as she felt about the imminent meeting, her stomach began to knot up with nervousness. At the same time, her lips refused to pull down from the almost painful smile they were stretching themselves into, she nearly felt like giggling.

_I have to stop acting so stupid and girlish. It will only result in a lack of much needed sleep thus making myself irritated and easily angered. I do not want Dr. Birkin to see that side of me. _She chided herself, trying to regain control over her incredible happiness. _For now, close your eyes, go to sleep, and in the morning you can be as excited as you wish._ Alexia did just as she instructed herself and drifted off into joyous dreams.

* * *

The next morning, Alexia woke up earlier than she had intended. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but faint light glowed from the window. With a small stretch, the girl rose from her bed and looked out her window only to see rain falling lightly upon the streets. It created a dreary atmosphere, but regardless of the delicate precipitation, her own mood was not dampened in the slightest. With a small smile to herself, she began to get ready for her day.

Searching through her luggage, she eventually found the outfit she had picked specifically for this day. The main article of clothing was a simple dress that was a sweet shade of light pink. The light polyester fabric was lined with black piping and frills sparsely decorating the hems. Accompanying the garment were a pair of fancy little socks and black Mary Janes. With the dress in hand, Alexia went and stood before the full body mirror, visualizing how she would look once she was finished preparing herself for the day. But the girl was already aware of how she would appear. In the weeks before the conference, Alexia had spent much time in selecting a suitable ensemble and had even put it upon herself to learn to curl her own hair. She had burned herself quite a few times but she was certain that it was worth it. She had promised herself that she would do whatever was necessary to look like a goddess before Dr. Birkin.

Giving herself a self-assured smile, she went off to the bathroom to continue to get ready. Once she had done all the essential hygienic demands of her morning routine, she did everything in her power to appear as beautiful as possible. She grabbed her choker and a black ribbon before returning to the large mirror. Securing the choker around her neck and tying the ribbon around her head, allowing her silky curls fall softly onto her shoulders, she looked at the hard work that produced the perfect reflection before her. She gazed at herself from as many angles as possible before she gave a final nod and gathered some papers then left.

She casually walked down the warmly lit halls, lined with ornate wallpaper and expensive carpet. Once she reached the elevator, she was only one of the many to board it. More people had joined the group on the elevator as it made its way to the main floor. She had expected there would be so many people bustling about, getting ready for the meeting. It was only about an hour away. However, she noted to herself, that she had nothing of importance to see to until then. As the elevator doors opened on the third floor, and she as wandered into the foyer, Alexia wondered how she could spend her time. _Well, I suppose there must be something I can spend time doing until the conference. _Just as her mind finished that thought, her eyes locked onto one lone figure.

William Birkin.

The girl had become frozen to the spot as she stared with wide, unmoving eyes. Her heart had skipped a beat then immediately started beating faster and faster, until she felt it would explode. All the sounds that floated about the foyer were drowned out by the sound of her blood pounding in her ears. She attempted to calm herself, but she couldn't rid herself of the rush of energy, which caused her body to tremble lightly. _You must go introduce yourself._ She told herself, but she was completely rooted to the spot, her gaze transfixed on the young man. The young genius just kept commanding herself the same demand and soon started walking slowly, like a baby taking its first steps.

Slowly counting the number of steps she took towards the man, she found she was dreading the dwindling space between them, suddenly overcome with nervousness. _Do not worry… seven… This is simple… eight… No need to be uneasy… nine… _She continued that train of thought and before she knew it, she stood right before him. However, he didn't seem to pay her any mind as his perfect blue eyes skimmed idly over the notes held in his hands. This was both offending to Alexia and relieving at the same time. After one final deep breath, the girl made her presence known. "Hello. You must be Dr. Birkin." She greeted in a voice that mirrored the confidence she felt the night before, but in that moment she seemed void of all that previous certainty.

The scientist finally looked up from the scrawled words and his gaze settled on the girl. Alexia suddenly felt a little ridiculous in her outfit, thinking that it made her look more like a doll than the intellectual girl she was. She quickly pushed that thought from her mind, not wanting any distraction to avert her attention from the man in front of her. She stuck out her hand, ready to shake his hand, her other hand tightening into a fist as she tried to will away the light shaking that still plagued her.

He regarded her for a moment, feeling as if he recognized her but he couldn't place in his mind exactly who she was. He grasped her small hand with his own, doing so almost cautiously. He continued to analyze her carefully, still feeling as if he should know her but was certain he had never met the girl in his life. But then it all became clear, and that deep, dark hatred crawled from the depths of his soul, as soon as she said, "I am Alexia Ashford." She continued to speak after that, saying the usual niceties that followed an introduction. But William didn't bother to listen to the words as he abruptly released her hand, unconsciously taking a small step away from her. He settled a powerful and unshakeable glare upon the young girl, feeling repulsed just by knowing she existed in the same world as him.

A thick silence descended upon them both as Alexia gazed up at him with blindly adoring eyes, waiting for him to say something, while he continued to glare at her with uncontrollable contempt. As a sense of foreign awkwardness settled on the child, she began to feel on odd light burning sensation spread across her face. She very much did not want to blush; she didn't want to look like a ridiculous little girl. _You must start a conversation. Otherwise, it seems that he will not talk. _She waited another tense moment or two before she opened her mouth to speak again. "Did you like the gift I sent to you?"

William furrowed his brow in slight confusion and said, "Gift?" Even though it was only one single word, to hear his voice for just that brief moment made a gentle smile place itself upon her features. She quickly composed herself once again before she nodded in affirmation. However, the man was still confused and was trying in vain to remember such a present. But still he could not recall anything. "What gift?"

Alexia once again felt affronted. She hadn't sent the Christmas present that many months ago. _Well, he was not personally acquainted with me at the time so perhaps that is why he cannot remember. _She assured herself silently. "I sent you a present around the Christmas season." She explained. "Did you receive it?"

* * *

William looked down at the package with slight curiosity but that dissipated into disgust as his gaze landed on the letter attached to the small box. The address showed that it arrived from Ashford territory, which he had absolutely no interest in. Scoffing lightly, he threw it down on the table carelessly and returned to his work. A blond woman a few years older than William stood next to him, she wasn't exactly surprised to see his reaction. "Aren't you curious to see what's in the box?" Annette questioned, picking up the box and peering at it inquisitively.

"No." He responded with a detached firmness to his voice. "It'd be a of my waste of time. Just go throw it out."

"All right." She replied with a light shrug. She left the room silently, still curious as to what would be in the box. She stopped walking for a moment, just staring at the brown package paper. _Well, if I'm throwing this away anyway… might as well look… _Detaching the letter, she ripped open the paper covering the box and carefully opened the small box. Inside sat a beautiful large golden locket. _Wow… this is beautiful… why would someone send something like this to William? _She wondered as she stared at the gleaming item.

She set the box down on a nearby table and opened up the letter, letting her eyes scan over the words. It was distant yet polite but at the same time there was a certain quality that she couldn't quite discern what it was. But whatever it was, she really didn't like it. She picked up the necklace and tossed the letter in the box. She examined the piece of jewelry, opening it and soon discovered its little hiding place inside. _No point in throwing this away. I'm sure William won't mind if I keep it._

* * *

"Yes, I did get it." He replied with a coldness in his voice that matched the frozen temperatures of the Antarctic. Now that she was talking about the whole affair, he was certain that she was the one that sent him the package.

"I really… sincerely hope… you liked it." She hated how she was acting. Alexia Ashford was not one to stumble over her own words. Alexia Ashford did not avert her gaze shyly when speaking to someone. Alexia Ashford certainly did not blush furiously at the simple action of talking to any person. _This is ridiculous. Look back up and stop acting this way immediately!_

But before she could do as she commanded of herself, William answered with loathing swimming happily in every syllable, "I didn't." Then just simply walked away not uttering another word. Alexia didn't even let her gaze follow him as he stalked away, instead her eyes were fixed straight ahead of her though she was staring at nothing. All her boundless joy suddenly left her after the utterance of such a simple statement. She felt cold; lonely; a hollow shell of a little girl. She felt as if she should cry or yell out in anger but she simply stood there, immobilized by shock. How could her imagination have led her so astray as to show her the opposite of her dreams in the reality she had just experienced?

Immediately her mind rushed to do damage control on her hurt pride and wounded affections. _No, everything is perfectly all right. _She reasoned to herself, her mental voice sounding metallic and foreign. _It was my own hubris that brought this upon me. Why would I ever think that he would want such a feminine gift? I suppose I thought the fact that it a gift from myself was all that he would care about. I must make an effort in the future to procure a present that he would genuinely cherish._ She gave a small nod to herself as if to cement the words in her mind. The shock left and she was once again the smitten girl she had been when she entered the room. Instead of her previous thoughts, she let her mind become preoccupied with girlish thoughts of how she actually saw and spoke with William Birkin. Not to mention the fact that she also shook his hand.

However, she was not allowed to dwell on those thoughts long before she heard her father's unfortunately familiar voice greeting her. She barely paid any attention to the words he spoke to her but from what she gathered she had about a quarter of an hour to prepare for the speech she was to give on the results she had so far of her current project. She simply nodded her head every now and then in a mechanical manner before following him to the conference room located in the hotel. When they entered, there were already a few people occupying some chairs amidst the sea of vacant seats filling the bright, spacious room.

Alexia and her father took two seats near the small stage situated with a microphone-equipped podium. While her father blathered on about unimportant matters, the girl ignored him and the noise around her, instead concentrating on her perfect handwriting that decorated the paper in her small hands. However, she found this to be a pointless endeavour. She had already memorized all the words written upon the page. She had no reason to write the script in the first place. She had been working on her little enterprise with endless ardour and thus knew everything about the virus purely from memory. But she reasoned with herself that it was better to spend time doing something falsely productive than to continue with her love-struck thoughts.

After some time passed, the previously empty seats soon had people sitting upon them and the dull murmur of many voices filled the room. As it became mere minutes before the conference began, Alexia had to exercise great self-control to keep herself from turning around in her chair and searching the crowd of faces for the one she adored more than any other. _Even if I found him among these people, _she thought, _I would just gawk at him. Regardless of my feelings, it is quite rude to stare. I just need to concentrate on my speech. _

Soon an elderly gentleman, who Alexia found herself unfamiliar with, strode upon the stage and stopped in front of the podium. The constant hum of chatter quickly dissipated as each person in the room noticed the man standing there, waiting for the attention of the crowd. Once the noise of the murmurs died away the man smiled at the crowd. It wasn't warm, it wasn't even politely welcoming. No, it was just cold and empty, the selfish greedy gleam in the man's eyes did nothing to better his unpleasant countenance. However, without saying a single word, the man managed to convey a definite and absolute sense of authority over the entire room.

When the man finally did open his mouth to speak, Alexia recognized the voice instantly. She didn't even catch his quick introduction. But it did not really matter since she knew without a doubt that the man was Ozwell E. Spencer, head of the Umbrella Corporation. She had only spoken with him once, when she had first gotten her position as head researcher of the Antarctic lab. But there was no mistaking that voice, it was distinct in that the man's tone (even over the phone) seemed to seep with power.

But she wasn't allowed much time to dwell on her thoughts because before she knew it, she was formally introduced and called to the stage. She got up from her chair and smoothed out the creases in her doll-like dress before making her way up the few stairs until she was on the raised platform. A security guard near the stage was instructed by Spencer to place a small stool in front of the podium. Alexia waited patiently, feeling slightly embarrassed by needing the assisting height. Strangely, she also felt somewhat proud. After all, the little black pedestal was a symbol of the fact that she was still a child yet she was vastly more intelligent than anyone else in the entire room.

With her usual calm, cool, and detached smile, she looked out towards the crowd and placed her papers upon the podium. Suddenly, as if her vision was equipped with some sort of homing device, her eyes landed upon the displeased face of William. She froze just as she had when she first saw the man in the lobby and her mind drowned itself in the sight, losing all sense of reality. A tangible and dreadful silence filled the room as soon as Alexia realized she couldn't remember a single aspect of her presentation. Not a syllable she knew would come to her lips to begin the explanation and a momentary look of surprise covered her face.

_Everything is fine. _She reassured herself, trying to quell the brief panic. _Just consult your notes._ She was silently thankful she had brought them in the first place. She looked down to the papers and read over the words written in the first sentence. But they made no sense at all! The typed words might as well have been the indecipherable scribbles of a toddler. Her vast vocabulary and understanding of each definition escaped her entirely. She became flustered once again as she tried in vain to once again grasp her expansive knowledge. But with every attempt she came up blank.

After a few minutes of the awkward absence of her voice, her face became a colour closely resembling the hue of a tomato, and she found herself fidgeting nervously (an awful habit she never allowed of herself). Even her breathing seemed to be affected; she was inhaling heavily and exhaling with a slightly quicker speed than was normal. She wasn't anywhere near hyperventilating but in Alexia's muddled mind, she figured she more or less was doing so. She couldn't even summon any encouraging thoughts to get her through the mess her infatuated heart had created. She looked up to the crowd again, but all she saw was William. Even from where she stood, she could see him laughing quietly with satisfaction painted all over his face. Alexia couldn't understand why that was, but regardless, she could feel a distant pain.

The girl had never before been afraid of looking like a fool in front of many people, simply because the thought of being frightened by such a thing never occurred to her. She had thought it would never be a thing to plague someone like herself. But suddenly faced with it, she had three options as every other person does when scared by something. Fight, flight, or fright. She decided to go with the second option, as cowardly as she knew it was. She could feel the alien feeling of self-loathing capture her completely as she ran from the podium to the edge of the stage, down the few steps, and through a set of doors located to the right of the platform. She didn't stop until she reached the elevator doors, which quickly opened after she pushed the button to request the lift.

She stood solitary in the dark elevator, her previous irregular breathing making her short run a little more taxing than it usually would be, mentally berating herself endlessly. Never in her entire life had she been more ashamed of herself. She wasn't even entirely sure of what to do. All she knew was that she needed to get back to her room and not come out until she was confident in herself once again.

The doors opened on her floor and she rushed immediately to her room. All she did was simply sit down on a chair in front of the full-length mirror. Alexia looked at her reflection for a few moments, she thought she still looked rather frazzled. Taking in her appearance, Alexia couldn't help but think about how foolish and childish she must've looked on that stage. Half of her mind wondered what her colleagues may have been saying about her, the other half had no interest in knowing.

With a small sigh, Alexia took the black ribbon from her hair, releasing her curls from the hold of the piece of fabric. Never before had the girl wished that she didn't exist, but at that moment she prayed for such a thing to become reality.

* * *

Hours passed and Alexia found herself in a new and exquisite little blue gown in the hall she had fled previously, which was now furnished as a dining hall. The genius had been against attending as first, simply wanting to lock herself up in her room until all other Umbrella employees left. But she managed to reason with herself that if she did that she would most likely never see her beloved William again. She had absolutely no desire to let his last memory her be her great embarrassment from earlier that day.

The room was filled with warm light and elegantly decorated tables, the second movement of Vivaldi's Spring from The Four Seasons floated through the air from its point of origin with the small group of musicians settled across the room. While most of the tables in the room had about six people sitting at each, some people seemed to be missing from several. The only table that stood out was the table seating her father, Spencer, and another man who Alexia wasn't completely familiar with but remembering some of her father's ramblings, she assumed the man to be James Marcus.

After peering at a few tables, she learned that the seats were assigned, so she began to search for her own name printed in neat black letters that stood out against the white paper and equally white tablecloth. As she continued her hunt for her place card, her vision once again caught sight of William. He stared absently at something next to him on the table as he spoke to his colleague. From where she stood, Alexia couldn't tell what he was staring at, but it was easy to read the look in his eyes. Whatever the object was, he wanted to eradicate it from being. Curious as to what disturbed him so, Alexia let her feet innocently lead her over to his table.

Once she got closer, she only became more confused as she found her name sitting there. The moment William noticed her presence hovering by the chair he quickly looked away, eager to ignore her existence. She didn't say anything and simply sat down in her seat then took a quick look around the table. Aside from William and the man he spoke to, there was another man and a woman seated with them. One seat was left empty. She peered at the name sitting in front of it. _Morpheus Duvall… I wonder who that is…_ She thought absently.

"I heard that monsieur Duvall is away due to recovering from an operation." A sultry, accented voice suddenly spoke and Alexia looked up to find its owner. It was a woman with long, dark hair and haunting eyes that held a ghost-like charm. Her beautiful, pale face was illuminated in the soft candlelight as she gazed at Alexia with a sense of superiority sparkling in her eyes. The young girl couldn't help but notice that the woman looked a bit like a dead goddess between her smoky make-up and the flowing black dress she wore.

"Oh… I hope that he is all right then." She replied politely, forcing some kind of concerned look on her face. But the girl did not really care at all; it had only been a passing curiosity. So she fell back to silence and looked more around the ornately decorated room but still felt that woman's eyes staring at her relentlessly. It didn't bother her at first and it was easily ignorable but Alexia could never stand being gawked at. And though the girl was not very gifted at small talk, she felt the need to carry on a conversation, if only to remove the condescending look upon the French woman's face. "… What sort of operation did he undergo?"

"Cosmetic surgery." The woman answered, as she continued to stare at the little girl.

"I see…" Alexia replied with a tone of disgust evident in her voice. _How vain must one be to miss a work-related meeting with such a horrible excuse? _She was quite glad that Duvall wasn't present, even without meeting him she was certain she would not like the man at all. The voice belonging to the woman sitting across the table from her spoke once again.

"So… why did you run away earlier today, ma poupette?"

Alexia had barely registered the question in her brain, but as soon as she realized what had been asked, she almost choked on the water she had started to sip. She gave a sideways glance at William and took a few moments to compose herself as she felt her face burn up as it had earlier in the day. "My nerves seemed to have affected me." She responded calmly, but her hands clutched nervously as the fabric of her dress on her lap. Alexia had no desire to announce to everyone at the table her affections for William. "I had forgotten what it was like to speak in front of a large crowd of people."

The woman giggled prettily with an antagonistic look in her expression. Shaking her head softly, she said in an almost amused tone, "Enfant, vous êtes trop jeune pour ce travail…"

_Impudent woman! I do understand French… _Alexia thought to herself, barely containing the frown threatening to cover her face. Instead of showing any physical sign of anger, she simply replied with, "Je ne concorde pas, mademoiselle. Je suis parfaitement capable pour mon travail." A falsely sweet smile settled itself upon her lips. "My apologies, but I do not think we properly introduced ourselves. I am…"

"Alexia Ashford, I'm well aware, ma chérie." The woman's words were seemingly devoid of the good humour they had held before. Her dark blue eyes were no longer glued on the child genius instead she turned to look uninterestedly at the small orchestra who were nearing the end of a piece by Chopin. "I am Persephone Laurent from the Paris facility."

Once again, decided that being polite would be the best course of action, she turned her attention to the man sitting next to Persephone. "And you are?"

He cleared his throat as if being abruptly awoken from a dream, surprised at being suddenly addressed. Alexia noted he had been staring fixatedly at the 'goddess of the underworld'. "Konstantin Yanovski from one of the Russian facilities."

Alexia then looked over at the blond man sitting next to him who was conversing with William. "Why are you still wearing those?" William questioned, motioning to the object in question: sunglasses. "You look like a moron." The man looked extremely familiar, like an image in her mind frozen in time. Slowly, recognition began to take hold her. If he was who she thought he was, he hadn't changed a bit (aside from the new accessory that almost seemed to be a part of him) since she saw that life-changing picture years ago. She may not have paid much attention to the other figure in the photograph but it was nearly impossible to mistake the features that looked as if they belonged to a majestic roman statue.

"Because-" The man was about to reply to William when he appeared to have noticed Alexia's curious gaze. "Yes?" He asked, acknowledging her.

"You are Albert Wesker, correct?"

"Yes, I am." He affirmed with a nod. Alexia then looked up at William, wanting to say something, anything just to speak to him again. A pathetic desperation that she was painfully aware of and yet at the same time she found she didn't care enough to feel ashamed. However, William pointedly ignored the girl, praying to any greater deity there might be in the entire universe (though he didn't truly believe anything so fictitious actually existed) that he would not have to suffer her presence much longer.

Silence quickly descended upon the table. The noise made by the other employees at the other tables sounded as if they were from another planet. The music of Bach however danced its vaguely lamentable tune around their ears. Despite that hidden note of melancholy, some of the dinner guests had gotten up to dance. Many of the employees in Umbrella had decided to marry someone also working for the corporation. In the kind of business they were part of, it was much more convenient to marry someone within the company.

Konstantin stood up and offered his hand to the woman sitting down beside him. "Mademoiselle Laurent, would you care to share this dance with me?"

Persephone smiled at him in a charming manner but the general air about her nature gave off a decidedly conceited attitude. "Certainly." She replied, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the floor of dancing couples. At that same time, a woman came to their table and nervously asked if Albert would dance with her.

He knew that his colleague would hate being left at the table with Alexia (though he himself thought William's unspoken rivalry with the girl was rather childish) and looked over at him out of the corner of his eye. Even with shades on he could still clearly see the expression on William's face. It quite distinctly said, "If you leave me alone with the Ashford bitch I'm going to fucking kill you in your sleep with those goddamn sunglasses!"

So he answered the woman with, "It would be my pleasure."

As Albert and the woman walked away to the dance area, William whispered under his breath, "Bastard…" He sighed irritably as he glared at the floor of dancers, nearly tempted to ask some random woman to dance with him just so he could escape the company of the table's only other occupant.

"Are you not going to ask anyone to dance with you?" She questioned, saying the first words that came to her mind for a conversation topic. It wasn't really much of a topic since he could just as easily reply with a one-word answer.

But to her pleasant surprise, he did not. "No, I don't see any point in dancing. This is supposed to be a business meeting, not a party." He looked out towards the musicians with a bored and displeased look on his face while crossing his arms, effectively giving off unfriendly body language.

Despite William's demeanour she smiled at him and replied, "I agree."

A tense quietness joined them at the table as the two simply sat listening to the lonely melody that hovered through the room, the sorrowful notes embracing them both. Waves of hate still enshrouded William like an impenetrable cocoon but at the same time he was slightly curious about something. Whether or not he liked it, he was forced to hear random tidbits of information about the young Ashford girl every other day. At first, he had found it amusing when she had run from the meeting earlier that day. But then he began to wonder about the rumours surrounding her. According to gossip, which seemed to have sneakily implanted itself in his brain, she would not be one to run away and give such a lame excuse afterwards. So he asked, "So what's the real reason you ran away today?"

Alexia really did not want to return to the still tender subject. She decided to feign ignorance. "Whatever do you mean?" _At least he is conversing with me willingly now…_ However, her question was met with stony silence. She didn't want to the chat to die as quickly as it had begun. So she continued to speak, emitting a light sigh, "I do not feel like talking about it." That too was met with a disconcerting quiet that Alexia wished to rectify immediately. "What did my father say?"

"I don't care about your 'little project' so I didn't bother listening." He answered bluntly in monotone. Alexia had to bite down her hurt, had to try to keep it from showing in her features. For once she had to ignore her pride and just keep any unwanted emotions out of her mind. She was not going to let her feelings ruin the opportunity to speak with the one she cared most for. "You didn't miss anything though, this whole conference is a waste of time."

"I do not believe it is a waste of time…" Alexia muttered quietly, looking down at her hands that were playing idly with the folds in her dress. She had barely even realized that she had spoken the words aloud. But she truly believed in the words that she spoke, an innocent confession.

"And why is that?" William replied, though he didn't care at all.

"Well…" She began but all she could think was, _I was able to meet you…_ But she was well aware she could not speak the words on her mind without suffering great embarrassment. "… this conference allowed me to meet fellow head researchers. It's refreshing to meet people who aren't completely incompetent."

"Really? All I've learned is that Duvall is busy getting a makeover, Laurent is annoyingly condescending, Yanovski wants to have sex with Laurent," he listed off with annoyance but then for the first time during the dinner he looked at Alexia and said, "and as for you…" The girl felt her heartbeat increase against her will, what would he say? She felt a queer nervousness overtake her and her stomach felt like it became tied in knots yet at the same time it felt light, airless, like it wasn't even there. "You're exactly how I imagined you…" A feeble, happy smile found its way upon her lips as she began to become really concerned that her whole body would begin to shake. And then he said, "… A useless, incompetent kid and a spoiled little monster, whose got nothing but the name of her family to support ridiculously short studies and inconsistent results in active research. You have no idea just how much I hate you. Talking to you is a waste of my time." And without another word he left the dining hall.

Alexia could only soundlessly watch him leave as his words began to sink into her mind, leaving lacerations on her stony and unknowingly fragile heart. The music that filled the room paused briefly and then changed to Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte. Some part of her mind vaguely noticed at how fitting the piece was to her current predicament for she indeed felt dead. She felt sorrow, that was certain. Yet at the same time she felt unreal, like she didn't exist, as if she really were dead.

At the very least she felt like she was dying, she had never been known that mere words could physically make one's heart hurt, as if it were weeping bitter tears of poisonous blood. It was so painful that she felt like tearing through her chest just to rip the hateful organ out of her body. It was so excruciatingly unbearable that tears sprung to her usually soulless eyes. She tried in vain to blink them away, to rid herself of the swimming vision but to no avail. She was not going to allow herself to start crying at the table, her agony was not to be put on public display. So she quickly rose from it and exited the dimly lit hall, leaving the joyless song behind as she hurried towards the elevator.

Luckily for the dejected girl most people were at the dinner, so the lift was blessedly free of people as she stood there sniffling in what she thought was a pathetic manner. Every tear that tried to make a wet trail down her face met with failure as her small hands quickly brushed the hateful droplets away. She tried to take some calming breaths, but it was pointless. The unyielding ache would not be cured so easily. All she received for her efforts were shaky sighs that threatened to turn into sobs at any moment. _Not here. Not anywhere. Stop this behaviour now. _But this time even she knew that her cold, detached nature could not save her from the turmoil of her heart.

As soon as the doors opened she fled to her room, even letting herself break out into a light run towards the door down the hall. Once she found herself inside the dark room, she fell against the door and slid down to the floor. She didn't want to turn on light, she didn't want to see herself in the mirror just across the room. She could barely stand to see her pitiful shadow. She no longer bothered to combat the tears that ran freely down her face. Within a few minutes the girl had managed to fool herself into believing that simply shedding a few tears would make everything better but her condition steadily became worse. Her throat began to constrict tighter and tighter around the painful lump that had formed there. Her breathing became worse as well and slowly descended into quiet, shameful whimpering. She hated it.

_Hate… He said he hated me… Why does he hate me though? I do not understand! _Her hands became balled into fists as they held tightly to the fabric of her dress. "I don't understand…" She muttered aloud to herself, her face buried in her knees that she had drawn up to her chest, hugging them tightly. She just kept repeating the same phrase to herself over and over again, as if continuing to say it would make her understand. But it didn't help at all. It only seemed to increase the volume of her sobbing. "I… don't… u-under… stand…"

Every noise she made stung her ears almost as much as William's words had. At that moment she wished she was deaf and condemned to forever stay in the darkness of the room. Surely, it had to be better to be blocked off from the world then to endure such torture ever again. Never in her wildest imagination had she ever thought that William could really truly hate her. Everything she had ever imagined never led to the horrible nightmare she was experiencing at that moment. She could see every single one of her dreams shattering in the view of her mind's eye.

An hour or two passed by, drowning in misery, in what seemed like barely a few minutes. Her mind had been running in circles and no consoling thoughts were offered. So she began to force herself to think logically. _What do I usually do when faced with something I do not approve of? _She questioned herself silently as she brushed remaining tears away from red and puffy eyes. She pondered it for a few moments before she finally realized her answer. If Alexia did not like something she either got rid of the problem entirely or she would pretend it didn't exist at all. _Very well. Then all I need to do is destroy this blind love I feel._

She stood up shakily from her position on the floor and turned on a lamp on one of the nearby tables, illuminating the room softly. She kept her eyes to floor as she made her way to the mirror, almost as if she were saying goodbye to the horribly euphoric and amazingly caustic emotion. Taking a last shuddering breath, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. That sight alone made her begin to start crying harder. She had never once in her life seen herself so very upset. So upset, her logical part of her mind thought, over such a trivial matter. She didn't truly think it was trivial but thinking so helped slow the flow of teardrops. _He did this. He caused this. Hate him back. Hate him now._

But as she continued to stare at the broken girl in the reflection, she couldn't seem to rid herself of the affections still surviving in her heart. She just continued to stand there, watching her reflection watch her cry. "I can't do it," she mumbled to herself with her tear-stained voice, "I cannot hate him." She continued to stand still for a few moments until her mind decided to give her some sort of solution to her predicament. _Perhaps he would feel differently if he knew how I felt._ She reasoned to herself that it seemed likely. _I need to tell him somehow._

She went to the bathroom within the suite and washed her face, trying to make herself look as composed and presentable as she could. _I'll just quickly speak with him outside. _She thought to herself as she threw a quick glance at the window, which presented a view of the rainy city. _I don't believe this should take very long. _So she left the room with only a light jacket to protect her from the drops the sky rained down.

She made her way to the lobby where some people were mingling. Weaving through some throngs of people, Alexia went to the front desk. She politely talked to the desk clerk and requested to send a message to William from herself, telling him to meet her out in front of the hotel. Once that was done she went outside to wait. She stood a little away from the doors leading into the building. As she began to wait, she was pleased to notice that it wasn't raining as hard as she had thought. In her mind, she started to think about exactly what she would say to him once he arrived. _No, I will simply tell him right away. It would be better for me to tell him in a more straightforward manner. _

So she continued to look out into the shower falling onto the pavement in the darkness. After ten minutes passed, listening solely to the lonely ambiance of the city, she started to feel cold and wrapped her arms around herself to generate some warmth. More minutes passed and the rain slowly seemed to be turning into a heavy downpour. But Alexia refused to leave her post. _He will come. He has to… I am not leaving until I tell him…_ She didn't want to think he had simply ignored her invitation to join her outside, but in reality that was the harsh truth. If he had it his way, he would never have to run into the horrendous Ashford brat ever again for as long as he lived.

But Alexia stood out there determinedly; stubbornly; hell itself would not be able to get her away from that spot. No, she would allow herself to persevere through the storm. She couldn't afford herself to leave, not with the chance that he might actually arrive. But an hour passed by with as much optimism as she could maintain, however, and Alexia had a limit of how optimistic she could remain. Minutes began to suddenly crawl by slowly and her clothes had long-since been drenched by the torrents from the heavens. _I shall wait a little longer… Just a little longer…_

'A little longer' proved to be another hour of standing in the rain. _I should return indoors soon unless I wish to catch pneumonia. _But she kept standing there, blindly hoping that William would suddenly show up, apologizing for showing up so late. Then she would simply tell him her feelings, without wasting any words. What happened next… well, she didn't find out because she interrupted her own fantasy with a sneeze. _Maybe I should go back inside now._ But her feet didn't move at all. Her heart told her to stay where she was yet at the same time it was beginning to realize the truth.

_He hates me… endlessly. I just need to accept it. It is quite clear that I cannot change his mind. _"It's perfectly understandable. Don't cry." But as soon as she murmured those words to herself teardrops started to fall down her face in time with the rainfall. _Yes, I accept it. I accept it completely. _But she knew she was lying to herself. Just as William was certain that he'd hate Alexia for all time, Alexia was certain she would never stop trying to change his mind. She would never cease her efforts as long as there existed that inextinguishable and innocent love.

* * *

**Gah! Sorry, this chapter took so long to write. ;A; Guess this is my Christmas present to everyone. X3; Anywho, here are some notes on the chapter.**

**1. Here is the list of songs that play during the dinner scene (if anyone is curious)**

**Vivaldi - Spring, second movement, The Four Seasons (Alexia entering)**

**Chopin - Nocturne in E Minor Op. 72, No. 1 (Alexia speaking with Persephone)**

**Bach - Air on a G String (Alexia speaking with William)**

**Ravel - Pavane pour une infante défunte (Alexia alone at the table)**

**2. Translation of the French used in this chapter:**

**Ma poupette - My little doll**

**Enfant, vous êtes trop jeune pour ce travail… - Child, you are too young for this job…**

**Je ne concorde pas, mademoiselle. Je suis parfaitement capable pour mon travail. - I do not agree, miss. I am perfectly capable for my job.**

**Ma chérie - My dear**

**3. Much thanks once again goes to MA-121 for assisting me once again. :3**

**4. Hope I didn't get too melodramatic with Alexia's emotions.**

**I'm sorry to say that the next chapter is kind of filler-esque. But at least it shouldn't take me three months to write! XD Anyway, happy holidays everyone. :D**


	6. I Look For Love, I Find A Stone

Chapter VI: I Look For Love, I Find A Stone

Alexia left the next day. She couldn't bear to be there a moment longer than necessary. Every notion of pain and hurt welled up inside her and flowed through her veins as if all her blood had transformed into fire. All she had to show for her night of waiting was a nasty cold. She would have stayed out there forever if her father had not found her. He had been in quite the frenzy when he arrived outside, cooing with worry over his daughter. His superficial concern over her just seemed to add insult to injury, he didn't even bother to ask about her crestfallen state. _He was simply worried that he'd lost his trophy daughter. Arrogant fool._

The trip back to the Antarctic was spent reliving the awful memories of the previous day. They seemed to be stuck on repeat and no matter how she tried to lead her melancholy thoughts away from yesterday, they would inevitably turn back to those painful remembrances. She stayed completely silent, ignoring her father whenever he chose to speak to her. All she could do was drown in her own recollections and those evil words that taunted and plagued her mercilessly. She tried to sleep and escape the words resounding in her cluttered mind but to no avail. She could not dream to evade her omnipresent thoughts. _Maybe it's for the better, _she thought, _Lord knows my dreams never provide any sort of sanctuary from reality. _

As she took her first step onto the ground of her facility, she couldn't tell whether or not she was happy to return to that strained normalcy. She paid no attention to anyone as she stormed sulkily towards her office on the lower levels of the facility. _Bury yourself in your work. _She instructed herself stonily. _Forget about all of this, if only for a little while. _She exited from the elevator and made her way down the walkway to her left before opening the door to her private study, complete with her own little lab.

She rummaged through the drawers in her desk to find a set of matches. Once she obtained them, she lit the alcohol lamp she had situated in the room. She blew out the fire lighting the tip of the match as she stared blindly into the flame within the lamp. With all the other advanced technology present in the room it would seem silly to most to have that form of illumination, but Alexia couldn't stand the usual fluorescent lights that found themselves lighting a lab. She much preferred the primitive lighting casting its gentle and warm glow on her work, creating shadows that leered around the room and becoming her own comforting company. Yet, unbeknownst to the girl, it was that very style of lighting that highlighted her own loneliness. At that moment, she couldn't help but feel that that sort of illumination was very fitting with her state of mind.

All she could do for a while was simply stand there, suddenly becoming only vaguely aware of her own thoughts as she stared at the little blaze in the ornately decorated lantern. Eventually, she convinced herself to start moving again but all she could do was pace back and forth slowly across the elegant carpet on the floor. She stopped her steps for a moment and instead focused her vision on the painting of Veronica Ashford she had located in the room. _This is absolutely ridiculous. I came in here to work and now that I am here, I cannot bring myself to look at my own research. _Alexia thought to herself in all the annoyance she could conjure up from her body. _So then, what should I do?_ She wasn't sure if she was asking herself, the long-dead matriarch, or the universe in general. She didn't care who answered for an answer was all she wanted.

The room continued to envelope her in silence but soon her own mind gave a potential method of letting her thoughts stop haunting her. _I remember once reading somewhere that if one were to write their feelings down on paper, it would help that person release those emotions and thus cleanse them of those bothersome sentiments. _So decided that she might as well attempt such a thing as she did not have any other possibilities open to her at that moment.

The girl returned to her desk and searched for a clean piece of paper and her favourite black pen. She cleared the slight clutter on her desk (she was momentarily appalled that she had left her workspace in such a state) and allowed enough room upon the surface to write. Sitting down on the chair, she looked down at the blank paper and wondered what she should write. The young scientist wasn't exactly sure how she should express herself. She knew no one else would ever read this letter, yet at the same time she wanted the world to know how she felt.

She set the pen to the paper and tried many times to immortalize in ink her emotions, but she couldn't. Bringing those plethora of emotions to the forefront of her mind did nothing to cheer her up in the slightest. All it amounted to were scribbles across the top of the page, smeared together by a small torrent of teardrops. _Write something. Just write. Even if it doesn't make any sense at all. Just write._

Then the pen seemed to take on a life of its own. It wasn't a particularly lengthy letter but it most certainly got the point across as to what she felt. She read over what she had written so far and felt a stony clutch at her heart as she felt the truth of the words seep into her mind. More hurt; more pain. And then she found herself only able to write the same three word phase over and over again in nearly infuriating repetition. The analytical part of her personality felt like it was being mocked by those simple words, laughing at her over and over again as if the whole situation was some kind of joke, some sort of challenge to her usual level-headedness. She had to force herself to stop writing that phrase and continue writing whatever words her mind had left to spill, which she quickly found out wasn't much more.

A girlish fancy overtook her momentarily, stupidly. She regretted writing it the moment it appeared on the page in full, staring back at her in her perfect scrawl. Feeling terribly foolish for giving into that impromptu impulse, she covered the loathsome ink with more ink in haphazard scribbles. _Stupid, stupid, stupid. Absolutely stupid. There really is no other way to perfectly describe my behaviour. _Once she covered up her mistake, she signed her name as it ought to be and underlining it as if to prove a point to herself, that her name would forever be Alexia Ashford.

She read the letter over once again, to make sure she hadn't missed a single word she wished to share with the sheet. Everything was perfect, like her logic had for once taken hold of her emotions as opposed to the other way around. Alexia stood from her seat and walked over to the flame. She wanted to destroy the words now, along with those emotions running havoc within her petite frame. But as she stared at the letter she couldn't bring herself to eradicate it from existence. As much as she hated her tumultuous feelings, they were now apart of her. She felt that if she were to burn the paper into embers, that her affection would burn with it, rendering her little more than a robot.

She backed away slowly from the small fire, until she felt her back collide with the bookcase next to her desk. It startled her out of her thoughts and she immediately turned around, pulling out a random book and stuffing the letter between the many pages before placing the book back in its place. She felt so ashamed at her own weakness that was showing too clearly right then, she was suddenly so very aware towards her own emotional vulnerability. But she still refused to let go of it. To be weak was human and it seemed that, in the end, she was little more than a little human girl.

With a heavy sigh, she dragged her feet across the floor and into her personal lab. She didn't bother to turn on the lights, not wanting to make her tired eyes adjust to the harsh lighting. She stopped in front of a small anthill contained behind a cylindrical wall of glass. In the semi-darkness she could still see all the little workers milling around on and about their home. Somewhere within that mound of earth dwelled the ant which excited Alexia's interest the most, the queen ant. It was a horrible title for that particular insect. The queen didn't have any real authority over the colony but simply provided them with more workers. The only thing that interested the child scientist was that special gene within the queen's body. But the girl did secretly wish that the tiny monarch had some other purpose, some true form of superiority.

_If I were a queen ant, I certainly wouldn't lounge about simply producing offspring. I would make sure all my peons knew that I was the reason they were there at all. Isn't a queen supposed to be exalted and worshipped? _She continued to think on in this train of thought for some time, pressing her forehead and dainty, thin fingers against the cool glass. Somehow her thoughts led her to dreams she had only started to remember and think about when she had been standing beneath that stormy sky outside the hotel. Dreams of fairytale-like lands…

_Why can't life be like that? Why can't _my _life be like that? Surely I deserve my happy ending as well, where I would be queen and William would be--_ But suddenly all she could hear resounding in her fragile mind was, "…Useless, incompetent kid… spoiled little monster… nothing but the name of her family to support ridiculously short studies and inconsistent results… I hate you…" A painful gasp escaped her lips as if the words had dealt her physical damage, fresh tears prickling her eyes. No matter how many times she heard those words, they still pained her. She pushed herself away from the glass as she tried to regain her composure again.

"Maybe…" Alexia began aloud in a quiet whisper. She wasn't sure why she was talking to herself, she hadn't previously shown this sort of behaviour, but it definitely felt comforting to hear her own voice cutting through the loneliness that surrounded her. "Maybe if I show him that I'm not just some brainless child with an impressive social status perhaps he wouldn't loath me so terribly. If I quickly complete the T-Veronica project…" She wasn't sure if she could completely believe even her own words, but it would be enough of a lie to distract her from her own emotions. If she could just pour every ounce of her time and brainpower into the virus then maybe, just maybe that would be enough to keep her from thinking of her own pain and, in turn, bring closer the completion of her creation.

_Just wait, William. I'll prove to you that you cannot hate me and that we can live happily ever after._

_

* * *

_**Sorry, for the long wait and the short chapter everyone. I really don't have much to say about this chapter (for once). However, the next chapter will finally bring in actual plot from the RE universe.**


	7. This Is No Kind Of Life

**Beware! Graphic Content Ahead!**

Chapter VII: This Is No Kind Of Life

The painting that hung in the main hall was definitely alluring… or perhaps alluring was not the correct word to use. However, the object in question definitely seemed to be calling out to Alfred. Normally, he would have just figured it was Alexia's presence within the scene depicted, but he had an instinctual feeling that this was not the case. It was acting like a mask. But a mask for what? The young Ashford could not tell. But every time he took his trip to the Antarctic, every moment he was not permitted to spend with Alexia, he was standing in front of the painting scrutinizing it carefully. It was almost an obsession with him. It was impossible to shake the feeling that there were secrets hidden by the three familiar faces in the portrait.

When no one else was in the main hall of the winter-land mansion, he'd run his fingers carefully over the dried oil paints, feeling that particular texture with the utmost attentiveness. He paid extra attention to the three small grooves in the painting. There was one at his father's ear, one on his own hand, and one at his sister's elegantly painted neck. He had initially assumed it had something to do with the green, blue, and red jewels they possessed but had never truly thought about extending this thought further.

However, one day, curiosity got the best of him. He retrieved the ring from one of his pockets and began to remove the gem from its silver encasement. He never wore the piece of jewellery, the ring proved to be several sizes too big for his subtly feminine fingers on his boyish hands. Once the stone was freed he placed it into the appropriate indentation. It proved to be a perfect fit, but nothing else happened. The painting sat there silently, refusing to reveal its secrets.

_I probably need the jewels belonging to father and dearest Alexia. _He took the blue jewel from its cradle in the painting before heading up the stairs to Alexia's room. Alfred figured that it would be much easier to convince Alexia of relinquishing her gem as opposed to Alexander who was the one who must have been hiding something. However, Alexia had asked that he leave her alone for a while. It wasn't an odd request since she was surrounded by (dense) people constantly on a daily basis as she tried to make more advances on the T-Veronica virus and rarely had a moment to spend by herself. Alfred understood her sentiments entirely. He himself liked to spend much time alone, but any possible moment he could he wanted to be near his sister. _But this is important. Surely Alexia will understand why I must bother her with this entreaty. _

Despite the importance he placed on discovering the truth concealed by the painting, he still found himself hesitant to knock on his sister's door and risking disturbing her. He stood there for about a minute before he finally took a deep breath and found the nerve to rap on the door three times. After a brief silence, he heard Alexia's voice call out softly in a vaguely annoyed tone, "Come in." Alfred opened the door and entered his sister's room. She was lounging on her bed; her eyes scanned the words of a thick book resting on her lap. Lately, Alexia had been reading fairytales whenever she had time to spare. It was almost a manic fixation. She continuously asked their father to bring her back any books with fairytales in it whenever he left the Antarctic. The girl was usually highly organized and kept her room spotless, but now books lay everywhere in her room. The bookshelf was almost empty and rather dusty, several books lay open on her desk, there were even several open the floor, and the rest of her fairytales were placed carelessly about the room in a haphazard manner. It was like she was studying them.

"What is it?" she questioned in a voice that made it seem like she barely registered the fact that she was speaking. She didn't bother to look up or get angry. She just kept reading as if she were in a trance. Alfred just couldn't figure out why the make-believe stories held such a spell over her and kept her absolute rapt fascination.

"Alexia, forgive me for bothering you, but I wanted to ask if I may borrow your red jewel." Alfred found his voice getting quieter. Part of his volume was born out intimidation at Alexia's possible rage, he most certainly didn't want to upset his most dear sister, but it was also partly because he could feel some strange tangible mood in the air and it felt like his speaking might disrupt it if he spoke too loud. He couldn't tell what exactly that feeling was, but he could only guess it came from Alexia's concentration on the book she was reading, as if she were imagining the story happening around her and he was getting in the way.

However, his soft-spoken words seemed to get her attention for she finally looked up at him. "You may," she replied as she finally removed her hands from the object in her lap and began to take off her choker to remove the jewel. But it was such a random request she couldn't help but inquire, "Why do you need it, brother?"

Alfred honestly wanted to tell his sister what he planned to do with the item, yet he was not completely certain if he was correct in assuming that the portrait in the main hall was hiding something. He didn't want to make himself look like fool in Alexia's flawless eyes. He needed to know the truth before he informed his sister of his suspicions. At the same time, he wasn't sure how to tell her that he could not speak of what purpose the gem was needed. So his lips remained shut as Alexia removed the jewel and handed it to her sibling. He looked at the precious stone for a moment and a strange jealousy flared up inside him. It was a stupid envy, but he still felt it all the same. That tiny piece of rock basically spent every moment of every single day with his sister, close to her almost all the time. Why couldn't he be with her all the time? He would more than gladly live in the Antarctic if he could see even just glimpses of her everyday. He hated being away from her and though Alexander and himself were staying for an extended period of time this visit (five months) that still didn't seem like nearly enough time to spend with his sister.

"Well?" Alexia's voice cut through his thoughts, that slightly irritated intonation returning. The light glare from her icy eyes prompted him to break his silence immediately.

"It's about that painting in the hall. I am certain it's hiding something. I just cannot tell what it is yet. If I collect the three jewels our family possesses than perhaps the portrait might reveal something," he explained, trying desperately to hide the sudden sheepishness that overtook him. It seemed like every time he had some sort of plan it would seem like a good idea at first, until he spoke to Alexia about it. Alfred always had this overwhelming need for Alexia's absolute approval, even for something as simple as what clothes he wore. But Alexia said nothing at all and simply returned her focus to the story she was reading. He couldn't decide it this was a good thing or a bad thing, yet still immediately felt his heart sink a bit. Then again, he tried to reason, she wasn't terribly interested in anything in the past year or so except for the T-Veronica project and her books. Everything else was just a nuisance, unfortunately that seemed to include himself as well (as much as he tried not to admit it to himself). He looked down at the jewel again and reminded himself that he still had to somehow acquire his father's gem. _That may take some time…_ "Alexia, do mind if I hold on to this for a while?"

"You may. I certainly do not need it for anything." Alfred thanked her and began to leave the room. Just as he was turning the doorknob, he heard Alexia's delicate but stalwart voice reach his ears. "Good luck, brother." A smile immediately found itself on his face at such simple words. Her voice sounded distracted but Alexia rarely, if ever, said things she didn't truly mean. With the happy grin on his face he returned to the main hall and once again stopped in front of the large picture as he had done countless times before. With renewed determination to find out the secrets his father hid, he began to plan just exactly how to get his hands on the remaining jewel.

* * *

_January 30th _

_There's a sealed room in the hallway located inside of the Antarctic facility. I don't know what is hidden there, but I do know how to get in. _

_I can use the three jewels that each one of our three members wear as proof of being legitimate descendant of the Ashford family. The only problem is, I do not know how I can gain possession of my father's proof. _

* * *

It didn't take Alfred very long to ponder a plan of action, but despite the simplicity of his plan he needed to act carefully. He certainly didn't want to get caught stealing something so valuable from his father. All he needed to do was sneak into his father's room while the man was asleep and take the proof. However, this task was made a great deal more difficult by the fact that guards patrolled basically all locations of the facility and on top of that there were security cameras that could catch him. Plus, there was also the risk that he could wake his father up.

If he were caught he knew he would not be able to think up a reasonable to excuse. He couldn't say something like he had a bad dream and explain that he was going to his father for consolation like some snivelling child. If he said that it would be immediately deemed as something odd for him to say. First of all, at twelve, Alfred was a tad too old to be crying about nightmares and secondly nightmares never bothered the boy, in fact they fascinated him. The only nightmares that bothered him were ones where some harm came to Alexia, but that was easily remedied by spending more time with her, assuring his mind that all was well where his sister was concerned. And for a third reason, Alfred never went to Alexander for any kind of problem, he only trusted Alexia to calm whatever fears or uncertainties he held in his mind.

So Alfred decided to spend some time practicing his route, taking note of where the security cameras were placed and following around the guards at night, making absolutely certain that he was not seen. Then when the path was clear, he would just stand outside his father's room and open the door just a crack then watch Alexander's sleeping form. He wanted to make sure that the man wasn't a light sleeper, but the head of the Ashford family proved to be neither a light sleeper or a restless one for that matter. He didn't really move at all, it was almost like he was dead. _If only…_

He would just stay there for at least an hour simply observing before he quietly closed the door and left. He did this for quite a few days, and as he spent hours standing outside his father's door just watching the sleeping man he couldn't help but feel a bit like the protagonist from _The Tell-tale Heart_.

On the beginning hour of February seventeenth, Alfred finally decided to follow-through with his little scheme. He wandered through the various darkened corridors, peeking around corners, and taking shallow breaths. His footsteps were soft and his movements slow. He didn't want any of the security officers to hear him. His eyes stayed trained on any flashlights that illuminated the hallways and moved accordingly to stick devoutly to the shadows, pressing himself tightly against the walls.

After much slinking about, he finally found himself at his father's room and slipped inside, quietly shutting the door behind him. The only item in the room to brighten the thick darkness was a tiny, flickering flame that threatened to extinguish itself at any moment. But that was all that Alfred needed. His eyes scanned the room until he could see a green jewel sparkling gently in the light of the candle on the other side of the room. Blue eyes darted to Alexander sleeping peacefully on his king-sized bed and Alfred stood still for a moment. He knew he had no reason to worry about anything, he was so close to obtaining the proof that he required. However, that did not mean he could suddenly be reckless with his little mission.

Slowly, the boy began to creep across the room, looking between his sleeping father and the emerald that tempted him to be careless. Alfred took another step, but his foot caught on something on the ground and he promptly fell, not making much noise yet not exactly being silent either. All he could do was curse vehemently in his mind and stay as silent as he possibly could on the floor. He didn't dare move as he heard his father stir in his bed. The boy looked down to see what he had tripped on and saw that a rug was to blame for his downfall. Frowning murderously at the object, he hated that his vantage point from the door in the previous nights hadn't provided him with the knowledge that the rug sat there uselessly waiting to foil his plan.

He listened with the utmost attention as it sounded as if his father sat up in his bed. It suddenly seemed that no matter how little he breathed, he still seemed much too loud. His mind immediately tried to think of all possible hiding spots he could quickly get to, the best bet seemed to be underneath the bed, but he wasn't sure if he could conceal himself silently. However, after what seemed like such a dreadfully long time Alfred deemed it safe to raise from the floor and tiptoe over to the dresser where the jewel was located. He grasped the tiny object and pocketed it before returning to the door, taking great care in turning the knob slowly and pulling the door open gradually so as to not make the thing creak on its hinges.

He peaked out to ascertain that the coast was clear, and found that he was free to retreat to the main hall. He returned the way he had come from and soon found himself standing once again before the giant portrait. A strange anxiety overtook the boy as he worked the jewel out of the silver that held it. More than before, he keenly felt the need to know exactly what lay beyond the picture of the Ashfords. He pressed each of the precious stones into their respective holes in the painting and as soon as they were placed where they needed to be the picture began to shake then it raised, revealing a hidden door behind it. _I knew it! I knew he was hiding something!_ Alfred went forward and grasped the handle of the door in his hand. Finally, he would know whatever secrets his father needed to hide and his own curiosity would be satiated at last.

* * *

… _Then an annoying knock at the door awoke the beautiful princess from her peaceful slumber._ That was the first thought to cross Alexia's mind as she was woken up by the obnoxious noise. She couldn't quite recall when she had fallen asleep, but she held one of her books in her hand. The last tale she could remember reading was The True Bride, so she figured she must have fallen asleep before she could start reading the next story. The knocking continued with hushed urgency. With a sigh, Alexia pushed herself up from the bed and finally answered the door only to see Alfred on the other side with a look of distress on his face. But Alexia chose to ignore the state he was in and snappily demanded, "What do you want? I was sleeping."

"Alexia, come with me. There's something I have to show you," Alfred insisted with a sense of complete and utter seriousness.

"What is it?" she questioned, not wanting to go anywhere unless the matter was of high importance. Although Alfred rarely bothered her with anything too trivial or acted in such a way toward her, it was no reason to go running off in the middle of the night (according to her clock).

"Just, please, follow me. It's… it's something you have to see for yourself," her brother pleaded as he took her hands in his and began to tug at her gently. Alexia huffed in irritation, but she conceded to follow him nonetheless. He led her down the stairs just in front of her room and they stood before a door where their family portrait once stood. She had to admit to herself that her interest was piqued. Alfred went through the door and just a few feet down the hall until he stopped at a door located on their right.

The automatic door admitted them entrance and opened into a large lab. "What is this?" Alexia whispered to herself, looking around. Why was there a hidden lab that she was not aware of in the facility? More lab space would have surely helped her project further in advancement. So why was all this extra equipment kept secret from her? Alfred took no notice of his sister's befuddlement and went straight to the large computer sitting on one side of the room. His fingers frantically typed in commands as he tried to bring up the various documents and statistics that Alexander had concealed from everyone, documents about something called 'Code: Veronica'.

Once he had everything up on the screen, he called Alexia over, "You must read all of this." Alexia tore her attention away from the room itself and went to stand by Alfred, reading the words that her brother wanted her to see. At first she almost didn't understand the information before her (which seemed absolutely ludicrous to consider as truth), but perhaps that was because part of her didn't want to believe it was true. Everything that was displayed before her was cleanly summarized in a file written by her own father.

_After many long years of research, I finally identified the inheritance element that administers the intelligence of man. _

_I even succeeded in manipulating the absolute value of intelligence artificially, by recomposing the base alignment of the element. _

_I then sampled the gene of our great ancestor, manipulated its element, then implanted it into the unfertilized egg of a surrogate mother. _

_What I didn't expect was that twins, a boy and a girl, were born. The boy had higher intelligence than normal, but not high enough for him to be considered a genius. However, the girl had unmatched intelligence that easily allowed her to be classified as a genius. _

_She was exactly what I had been looking for, the revival of our great ancestor. _

_I already determined their names : the girl's name, Alexia, and the boy's name, Alfred. _

_I'm certain that Alexia will elevate the name of the Ashford family to extreme glory. _

_Alexander Ashford _

She was completely stunned and rendered speechless, her hands groped for the ledge of the control panel to steady herself. Her mind desperately didn't want to believe it was true and reject it completely, but she couldn't. The proof was there right in front of her eyes and in every memory of her entire life. She was exactly the positive results that the experiment detailed had hoped to produce. Suddenly, she felt like one of the princesses in her stories and a horrible curse was placed upon her. It made her into… "A monster," she whispered to herself quietly. Yes, she was the disfigured princess and her chosen prince could do nothing but peg what she was perfectly. '…_Little monster…' _

"Alexia, are you all right?" Her brother's voice broke her from the confines of her mind. She wanted to snap at him (clearly she was not all right at all!), but from his voice alone she could tell he was just as affected as herself. She supposed that the only thing worse than being the good little fiend was being the unwanted one.

"Monsters. We're monsters, aren't we?" she questioned him, feeling shock, anger, and despair mixing within her and preparing to overflow in a violent volcanic eruption. Alfred shook his head and immediately was prepared to disagree, to quell and soothe whatever worries assaulted her. However, she quickly quieted his words as her own words began to spill forth from her mouth like toxic angel tears. "You know it's true! I mean, look at me. It's unnatural that a twelve year old has this occupation, isn't it? It's…" She briefly paused in her ranting to search for the right wording, but only one crass word echoed like a bell, ringing only in truth. "…freakish, right? This isn't normal. I'm not normal. I'm anything but normal!"

Alexia used to think that it was a good thing, her superior intellect, and that those who were jealous or showed animosity towards her were nothing more than pitiful beings fated to a life of mediocrity. But now she could understand them somewhat. Someone like her shouldn't exist, just as demons shouldn't exist. She looked up at her picture showing on the screen, a bunch of candid shots depicting her going about her daily life. Alfred was talking to her, but she cared not for what he said. Instead all she could suddenly think of was that if Alexander could isolate the gene for human intelligence then there was a good chance that he probably created her exactly as he saw fit, right down to every last hair on her head. She looked down at her perfect little hands and she felt all over a flawlessly designed doll, so much like all the ones still superfluously decorating her room. She was a trophy, not a daughter. At least that thought wasn't anything new to her, but that only served to hurt her more. Now she knew for sure that she was only alive to distract people from the previous failures of her father.

"We're no better than those damn prisoners that I use as test subjects," she spat acidly and as the reality of that statement hit her she found herself crying as anguish and mania captured her broken blue eyes. "That's right…" she sobbed helplessly, "we're awful little devils, just a couple more of Umbrella's toys." She began bashing violently against the keyboard for the computer, opening and closing various files that were open, and Alfred could only stand still, unsure of what to do as he watched his sister. After a moment or two, he had to do something. His own suffering meant nothing next to Alexia's; he couldn't just stand by and let her endure her torment with no reprieve.

"Calm down, it's okay," he tried to say with as much serenity in his voice as he could muster. "What does it matter if we're not like other people? You're far superior to any other person in this world." Alexia suddenly stopped in her abuse against the technology before her and looked at Alfred with something vaguely akin to hate. Feeling her staring at him like that made everything else in the world not matter at that moment, all he knew was that he deserved only the most severe punishment for adding to his sister's pain. "I'm sorry, Alexia. Forgive me," he tried to apologize, but it was too late. His words had already dealt their damage.

Over his attempted apology, she began ranting shrilly again as the screen that had informed them of the new revelation sat black. "Superior? Isn't that what Umbrella is trying to do with their bio-weapons? Make superior products? That's what we are! We're hardly human beings. No, we're more like puppets. Marionettes of our father." She fell silent as her brain circled around that thought. "Yes, Alexander. It's his fault." Fresh tears spilled from her eyes, but they were infected with bitter hatred. She had never loved her father as other daughters love their fathers. At best, she felt detached recognition of being related to him. But now she felt the pure hatred swelling up inside of her, devouring her and consuming all her thoughts. "It's all his fault!"

"Hello? Is someone there?" A muffled voice interrupted Alexia and it rendered her silent quite effectively. The pair in the room recognized the voice as belonging to one of their family's butlers, Scott Harman. After what she discovered, she was well aware that neither of them could be caught in that room. There was another door leading to the hallway that led to the prison area, but the girl didn't think they could make it in time. Instead, she tugged on Alfred's arm and dragged him with her underneath the large desk behind them holding several computers, crawling as far into the darkness as they could. It was bit uncomfortable as they were cramped close together in order to fit, but all that mattered was that they remained hidden.

They both stayed perfectly still as the electronic doors slid open noisily and footsteps clacked against the smooth floor. Legs wearing black pants and feet wearing polished black shoes stopped in front of the desk, the twins could only wait with bated breath. As Harman paused there for a short while, Alfred felt a small splash of water on his hand and looked up at his sister who continued to cry silently. He cursed Alexander in his mind for bringing such grief to Alexia's life as he quietly brushed away her tears. At that moment, she looked up him. The crazed sadness had faded from her eyes, but instead they were steely with a calculated determination. Alexia leaned closer to him conspiratorially and with a voice suddenly void of all emotion whispered, "Alexander must pay for what he has done and he must pay with his life."

"Are you going to kill him?" he whispered back curiously. The idea didn't repulse him at all. He would happily assist his sibling with whatever plans she had for their creator.

"No," she replied immediately. "That isn't a good enough punishment for what he has done by manufacturing everything about us. Plus, it would also be a waste of a perfectly good test subject, wouldn't you agree?" Instantly, Alfred understood what she meant and couldn't help, but smirk at the thought, which Alexia mirrored with attractive malice. As Harman finally gave up searching the room and left, turning off the lights, the girl continued, "This way, he too will understand how it feels to be a monster."

* * *

_February 17th _

_I finally succeeded in entering that sealed room. I never could have imagined that such an insane secret existed regarding the birth of both Alexia and myself... _

_I hate my father. That fool, Alexander... Now it is obvious that we were merely created in an attempt to cover my father's blunder. I can never trust him again. I must regain the glory of the Ashford family with my sister. _

_I have nothing to be afraid of, as long as Alexia is with me. _

* * *

A few weeks passed as the two children decided exactly how to go about performing the experiment on their father and Alfred loved every moment of it. He took a sick delight in discussing every detail of what would happen to Alexander and on top of that he was allowed to spend much more time with his beloved sister, working towards a common goal with her. All of her fairy tales lay forgotten around them as they talked in her room for hours about the desired reality ahead of them. "There is a high possibility that the virus will not work as it is supposed to. In fact, I'm almost certain it will not. However, that serves our purpose rather well and it will also allow me a subject, which may help me discover how to fix that problem."

Eventually, at the beginning of the month of March, the two of them had decided to set everything into motion. Alfred waited in the prison area in a cell that was isolated from the other prisoners; it was the room where Alexia always performed her experiments on living subjects. While Alfred waited, Alexia went to go fetch Alexander. As she had expected, Alexander was lounging in his office reading various files sent to him. Alexia barged straight into the room, having long ago given up the practice of knocking before entering; it was a needless polite act that only hindered whatever matter that needed to be dealt with. Plus, it was her facility so she shouldn't need to be given permission to enter any room when the whole place was under her jurisdiction.

"Good evening, father," Alexia greeted, exercising great control to make her voice sound sweet instead of sour. The muscles in her face distorted themselves painfully into a delicate smile. A gentle sparkle in her eye created the illusion that she was happy to see her father, but in all actuality it was simply her jubilance for the role she would fill that night. For once she would not be the princess feeling helpless and unsure. No, for one night she would instead play the role of a brave heroine, ready to vanquish the beast before her.

"Good evening, dear," Alexander returned pleasantly. It wasn't very often that his daughter came to visit him, so he welcomed the surprise with open arms. He disliked the fact that he saw his precious Alexia less than he did before, but he accepted it happily knowing that she was exerting so much time and energy into something she was passionate about. There were two reasons for this. On the surface, he gave the impression that it brought him joy to know that it gave a better image of the Ashford family, it elevated their status. However, he had another selfish and personal reason. As a father, there could be no greater happiness than to see his daughter excelling at something she enjoyed. Yes, he knew that sometimes she would hit roadblocks and grow frustrated with her work, but he liked to believe that overall she loved her research and it made her happy. And that fact only made him more fascinated by his own child and only served to make him love her more.

Alexia walked up to his desk innocently and kept her hands safely hidden behind her back. "I have a gift for you," she announced enigmatically.

A smile crossed Alexander's face and he responded, "You do? What is it?"

At this point, Alexia revealed her hands and in one of her hands she held a thick black ribbon. "It's also a surprise." A little bit of mischief coated her voice, but just enough to be playful instead of malevolent. The girl went around to the other side of the desk and wrapped the ribbon securely around Alexander's head, covering his eyes to sufficiently blind him. "Now all you have to do is follow me," she instructed him, knowing full well that he would trust her completely and do as she asked without objection.

As Alexia helped him out of his chair Alexander asked, "May I try and guess what this surprise might be?""No, you may not for there is a chance you may guess correctly and thus the surprise would lose all its impact," she explained as she led him into the corridor.

"Very well then. Lead the way, darling."

Once the two of them arrived at the location Alexia stopped in front of the large cement chair in the lonely hall filled only with memories of death and grotesque mutations. "Sit down," she said as she helped him into the seat. Alexia motioned for Alfred (who stood by silently) to go to the other side of the chair. She held up three fingers and began a small countdown. Three. Two. One. At once both children took hold of the restraints on the chair and secured them around Alexander's wrists. Strangely, the man didn't struggle at all. He simply continued to sit there calmly like he was an avatar for the old adage 'Love is blind'. This only enraged Alexia, so she ripped the blindfold off of Alexander and her face relaxed into an expression fuelled by hatred. "Surprise," she growled sardonically, throwing her hands out as if to motion to the situation they found themselves in.

Alexander still remained infuriatingly composed. "Alexia, what is the meaning of this?" he questioned her, looking every bit incredibly clueless.

The girl walked over to a trolley where a bunch of medical supplies were laid out and she picked up a pair of trauma shears as she placed the ribbon down. "Why should I explain anything to you?" she retorted coolly as she walked back over to the man and began to cut away the suit jacket and shirt he wore. "You never took the time to explain anything to us. I'm aware that you must've been ashamed that you needed children to cover up your countless failures, but that is no excuse."

"What are you talking about?"

"How is it possible that you could be so endlessly stupid? It continues to boggle my mind how I could share the same DNA with you," she replied as she began to remove the shredded pieces of fabric before walking back over to the trolley with the instruments Alfred had brought for her. "But let me explain it to you in a way that even you would understand. You are Dr. Frankenstein while Alfred and myself are the abominations you created, isn't that right? You engineered us so that we may outshine all your previous blunders. Now, what kind of selfish father would do that to his children?" The girl picked up a syringe and began to fill it with her incomplete, prized virus.

As Alexia spoke Alexander slowly realized exactly what she was talking about and began to panic, especially when his eyes focused on the object in her hand. "Then again, we're not really children. We're just your specimen." Alexia turned around and slowly walked toward the man sitting in the chair.

Alexander was about to open his mouth to protest, to try to explain to her why he hid his research and how he felt about his children at that moment, but a different voice interrupted him, "Alexia, wait." It was Alfred who had been completely silent up until that moment. His sister turned around to face him and gave him a quizzical, almost angry, look. "Not yet. Would you mind if I used some of my toys first?" he asked innocently as he swept one hand towards the cart. Alexia looked over to the tools laid out and smiled lightly. She may not have spent much time with her brother anymore, but Alfred was no longer very good at hiding his emotions or his penchant for unusual hobbies.

"Why certainly, dear brother. Just do not take too long, all right?" Alexia walked away from the chair and decided to watch the show Alfred was about to put on. Her twin thanked her and walked over to view which instrument he would begin with. As he did this, Alexander began babbling in desperation.

"Alexia, you can't do this!""I'm not doing a single thing right now, _father_," the girl replied, spitting out the last vile word like a bitter poison.

"You know what I mean! Alexia, you have to believe me when I say I love you.""Why should I?""I know now that I did a terrible thing to you and your brother with my experiment and maybe I should never have done what I did. I see plenty of other parents with their children, who they love unconditionally regardless of how they look or act or any of those other traits that I once deemed so important. And every time I do I feel so sickened at what I did to the two of you! Why do you think I wanted to hide all the evidence of what I did? I didn't want you two to find out, I didn't want to hurt you. I don't love you because you make the family look better, I love you because you're my children."

"Really?" Alexia remarked, feeling her throat tightening up and tears beginning to pour down her face. It wasn't because of the heartfelt speech from her father, it was because they all sounded like nothing but empty lies to her ears. Just as it was as she was a child when he would comment on her brilliance, it was still the same now as he begged for his life. "If that's true, then would you have 'loved' us had we been normal, stupid children?"

"Of course, I would have!"

"Stop lying! Face it, we would be nothing like we are now if you hadn't done your tampering with our DNA."

"That doesn't change the fact that I-"Finally, Alfred had decided on what he wanted to use and walked over to Alexander. "Don't worry, Alexia. I'll silence him for you." He too had a syringe in his hands. However, what he would inject into his struggling father was not a mutagenic pathogen, but instead pancuronium.

"Alfred, wait. To you especially I was far from a perfect parent and I'm sorry. Forgive me! Please!"

"Don't apologize to me, anything you did to me personally is of no consequence. But you did make Alexia cry and it is for that crime that you must receive punishment," he responded icily before plunging the needle into Alexander's body and dispensing its contents. Alfred returned to the instruments once more as he picked up a scalpel with the largest blade he could find. "I suppose this will have to do," he murmured to himself as he inspected the object. Meanwhile, Alexander slowly was losing the fight against the drug and after nearly two minutes he made not one movement in his chair.

The boy forced open his father's mouth and readied the piece of equipment in his hands. He studied his target for a moment before entering the scalpel into Alexander's mouth and making the initial incision into his tongue. As he sliced into it and blood began to pool in the man's mouth Alfred began to talk, "As you can tell, that was no sedative that I administered to you. It was simply a muscle relaxant." He savagely drove the blade farther and farther in until Alfred could reach his other hand in and pluck the thing out of Alexander's mouth. He threw the bloodied piece of muscle onto the floor. Alfred hurried over to the trolley and got a suction device before returning to the paralyzed man, removing the blood from his mouth. "I wouldn't want you to choke to death now."

He grabbed a pair of extracting forceps and then once again went to Alexander. "Given what will happen to you, I reason that you won't be needing all your teeth." He latched the device onto one of the man's molars and started to rip it from his gums with all his might. After a little while one tooth came free and it joined the tongue on the floor. But Alfred was far from done. He continued to work on a second tooth while intermittently removing blood from his father's mouth. As for Alexander, all he could do was suffer indescribable pain as he watched Alexia watching him. He knew he was an awful person, but no one in the world deserved to have something so horrible happen.

By the time the fourth tooth was removed, Alfred was bored of the process and no longer found any fun in it. He once again grabbed the scalpel and simply stared at his father for a few moments, determining what action to do next. "Alexia, do you think the subject will need his eyes after he mutates?"

"Given that he'll rot down here for the rest of eternity, no."

"Perfect," Alfred replied, smiling sadistically as an almost hungry look came into his own eyes. At first he gently let the blade glide across the sclera of Alexander's left eye and then with no warning he jabbed the scalpel right through the cornea, watching in amusement as aqueous and vitreous humor leaked from the puncture wound. Removing the blade from the eye, he placed the scalpel down and stretched the skin surrounding the eye. As the eyeball began to collapse from losing its fluids, more room was afforded to Alfred to do what he pleased. So he dug his fingers into the socket and began to pull at the organ. The capillaries and optic nerve were not strong enough against the force and quickly gave way, causing a torrent of blood to flow down Alexander's already crimson-stained face and torso. Once again, the thing was tossed aside like garbage. The boy admired his handiwork for a moment before performing a similar action on the eye's twin.

Alexia watched in delighted disgust. She hated outright torture, it was pointless and nothing really came from it aside from quenching a person's sadistic pleasure, but there was no denying the fact that she relished in the pain that Alexander now felt. However, she still couldn't stand to look at the mangled mess before her and there was still her virus, which begged to be put to use. "Alfred, stop," she ordered as she went over to the cart and exchanged the syringe for the blindfold. "I do not have all day to watch you have your fun."

"I'm sorry, Alexia," Alfred replied with a sad inflection.

"There is no need to apologize. As much as I enjoy watching you torment Alexander, I do have work that I need to get to today," she explained as she tied the black ribbon around Alexander's head again. She needed to cover the hollow caverns, it brought a queasy feeling to her stomach to look into them. "If you could start cleaning up this mess, I'll administer the virus." She fetched the syringe again as Alfred quickly began to clean the place up and slipped the needle into one of Alexander's veins before depressing the plunder steadily. Once the virus was entirely injected she stepped away from the man and looked at him with intense scorn. "Enjoy your gift." She turned on her heel and stalked away, following Alfred as he was already making his way down the hall.

Once the duo made it into the area with the door, Alexia pulled the lever down that would separate themselves from the monster that would soon be introduced to the world. And then she simply stood there watching with a scowl on her face. "Are you coming?" Alfred questioned his sister, motioning to the door.

"No, I want to see what happens to him." The twins stood there silently watching as they waited for Alexander to undergo a mutation.

_I'm sorry._ That was all Alexander could think._ If only I hadn't…__I'm sorry, Alfred. I'm sorry, Alexia. Just as I failed my father as a son, I've failed you both as a father. _

_I'm sorry._

* * *

_March 3rd _

_Alexia carried out the experiment on the human body that we've been talking about. Our useless father must be happy now, since he can finally contribute to the Ashford family. _

_The only thing we should be careful about is that the butler, Harman, does not become wise to our activities. _

* * *

**I liiiiiive! Sorry, I haven't updated in stone's age but life's been a little hectic on and off for the past couple of months and I've been lazy. :P Anyway, author notes!**

**1. I had to change up the first file from the game due to the fact that Alfred actually did have a pretty good hunch of how to move the painting.**

**2. Thank you CAPCOM for the files.**

**3. Thanks to Gramm485 for beta reading this chapter and for beta reading chapter V (I was a bitch and forgot to mention that at the time. :( ).**

**4. Once again, sorry to the readers for the wait. I hope this chapter was worth it. :)**

**Hopefully, I will not take such a ridiculously long time with the next chapter.**


	8. Heaven Keep Us Apart

Chapter VIII: Heaven Keep Us Apart

_After discovering the remains of an ancient virus within the genes of a queen ant, I have been concentrating on the research of ants. _

_The ecosystem of the ants seems truly ideal to me. There is one queen ant in each anthill, and the soldier and worker ants are the queen's slaves. They dedicate their lives to the queen. _

_The death of the queen ant means the doom of the entire anthill. However, the soldier and worker ants can be easily replaced as long as the queen ant is alive. This is exactly the same relationship between myself and other ignorant masses. _

_I have succeeded in creating an ideal virus by implanting the queen ant's gene into the mother virus that Spencer found._

_I used my otherwise useless father as a test subject. However, as I expected, the virus caused a rapid change in his cells, triggering the complete destruction of his brain cells and body flesh. _

_Furthermore, a special type of poison gas was generated inside his body, that the blue herb had no effect against. Because of this, I created an antidote in case of an emergency, and stored it inside of the weapon/chemical warehouse on the B2 floor. _

_I have decided to name this virus with unimaginable potential, the "T- Veronica" virus. When I find out how I can fully utilize the power of wonderful virus, my great research will finally be complete._

_ Alexia Ashford _

* * *

Weeks had passed since the girl had done the experiment on Alexander and in that time she had tried to force the previous pain to nothing more than dull memories. Alexia didn't want to dwell on the revelation that had caused her such strife, she wanted to pretend it didn't exist, but the wounds were still too fresh to simply push them away entirely. So instead she chose to go forward with her research because while her father's transformation proved inferior to her desired results, she had new information that fuelled her ambition to perfect the T-Veronica.

The entirety of all her days were spent labouring over her creation, not even pretending to mourn over the very recent 'death' of her father. She hadn't even so much as batted an eyelash when she engineered the lie concerning what had happened to her father. "It was an accident," she had said. "It was not my fault that he was too much of an imbecile to know the consequences of what he was doing… What was he doing? … That doesn't matter. All you need to know is that he was unforgivably stupid and he got himself killed. It was his fault!" Harman hadn't pressed with issue with the young girl as he knew that Alexia's obsession with her work made her blind to all other facets of her life. He was afraid that if he did try to bring the matter forward repeatedly, it could only end up affecting her negatively mentally and emotionally.

Even Alfred couldn't be bothered to create a masquerade of grief, he could only relish in the happiness of being able to be by Alexia's side without being hindered by that bothersome 'parental figure'. He would constantly hover around his sister, staying silent as per her request so as not to distract her from her very important work. He even took to sleeping on the floor in her office as she spent many sleepless hours crafting her masterpiece. There really wasn't anywhere else for him to go anyway. The twins had determined to get rid of their old rooms and build two conjoined ones in the area where they had found out Alexander's secret, as it was more closed off from the other employees in the facility. There were very few moments when he was not in the same room as his twin.

Alfred absolutely refused to leave Antarctica. No matter how much Harman tried, he simply couldn't convince the boy to return to England. Unfortunately, there was nothing left to tempt Alfred to return to his homeland. Everything he wanted and needed was located in the research facility. The butler had even attempted to get Alexia to try and reason with her brother, but to no avail. She simply did not care as to what Alfred chose to do. She agreed with her brother that there was nothing back 'home' for him, the place could burn to the ground as far as she was concerned. And while Alfred didn't share her inhuman IQ, she was confident that he could continue his studies on his own as there was ample material to learn from in the facility. Harman chose to chock this flippant behaviour up to exhaustion that the girl was inevitably suffering from, but in truth Alexia knew that Harman would have to go through hell and back to separate Alfred from herself. And from what her brother had done to Alexander, she was guessing that she had only seen a mere glimpse of Alfred's intricate comprehension of the definition of 'hell'.

However, Alfred's problems hardly mattered to Alexia, she was much more preoccupied with other matters. She could physically feel that she was maddeningly close to the completion of her virus. The excitement of that prospect just kept building every day, it was enough to make her sick with delight. She still couldn't call what she felt happiness, but it was enough to drive her forward and try to attain that ideal happiness.

Yet, one thing did bother her considerably. She found herself at a loss for a desirable test subject. She had no qualms in wasting the first sample on Alexander, she knew it wouldn't work as it should so she didn't feel particularly vexed at having administered it to a creature so worthless. However, given the fact that the virus would soon reach that state of flawlessness she craved she couldn't simply just give such a gift to anyone. She simply wasn't willing to spend so much time watching over the progress of someone she didn't deem worthy to have her creation running through their veins. By her calculations, the specimen would need to stay in a cryogenic tube for well over a decade in order to keep the T-Veronica under control and prevent any unwanted, grotesque mutations. Eventually, she simply decided she would worry about such a thing later. Finishing her creation took precedence.

The girl took very few breaks except for tending to the very basic things that would keep her alive. But one day, in the early morning, she was almost certain that her long-dreamed of goal would finally be reached and the T-Veronica would be finished. As she realized this, it dawned on Alexia that she had someone very important to inform in regards to the matter. She left her small personal lab and entered into the adjoining room, where Alfred slept slumped against the bookcase. She paid no heed to him as she went straight to her mahogany desk and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper along with a pen and an envelope. She wrote down the destination with easy recollection in her elegant scrawl before she turned her attention to the blank paper, waiting eagerly for the message she wished to communicate.

At first, all she could do was let the writing tool hover above the sheet, thinking very carefully of how to word the sentences she was about to pen down. After all, he had expressed very clearly his loathing towards her and, though she hated to think it, time had probably not changed that fact. She knew she had a penchant for being arrogant and conceited, but she was wise enough to know that such traits would never endear her to the young man. Not a single syllable could be out of place, she couldn't afford to sound as if she were bragging or write down anything that he could possibly view as annoying.

An hour was spent in planning. Alexia had a deep dislike of wasting time, especially where her work was concerned, but the task was important. Her research could wait just a little while. Eventually, she was able to write the letter in its entirety and sent it out as soon as she could. Her mind thought over multiple scenarios involving the correspondence. Would he simply ignore the letter, just as he had the last one? Would he respond? If he did, would it be nothing more than a scathing remark? Or, would it be something much kinder?

* * *

A few days passed and soon Alexia found herself drunk with the taste of success. She had run numerous tests to ensure that indeed she had the finished product. Even though she was the one who had accomplished such a feat, she could hardly believe that she had done it. She had immediately forgotten all her fatigue as soon as the last test had yielded the results she had needed and suddenly her whole being was fuelled with a happiness that she could scarce recall feeling before. She ran out of her personal lab and emerged into the hallway only to see Alfred sitting on the floor. Alexia had thrown the boy out of the room a few hours previous and though he had begged to remain with her he had eventually quieted down, simply deciding to act like a guard dog outside her working quarters. Alexia found herself glad that he had stayed near her, glad that there was someone she could share her happiness with and who would share that happiness with her.

As the door opened, Alfred looked up expectantly, ready to get up and do anything that his sister should need. Part of him was hoping that maybe she was actually heading off to her room to get some proper sleep, she had hardly rested in the last month or so, and he'd hate to see any adverse effects to her health. However, when his eyes settled on her, a radiant smile was painted onto her lovely, little face. In truth, her face was paler than usual; dark circles were around her eyes; her hair was messy from the countless amount of times she had run her fingers through it or from pushing stray strands away from her face. In short, she was not the pretty little girl she usually presented, but Alfred didn't see any of that. All those imperfections couldn't hope to mask the beauty he saw when he looked at her. All he could see was how happy she was and to the boy that was beautiful beyond all possible description.

He would give anything for her to be just that joyful forever.

Alfred rose to his feet as his sister rushed over to him and she immediately wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. "I did it, Alfred," she whispered sweetly in his ear, "I finished the T-Veronica virus. It's done!"

"I knew you would complete it," he responded elatedly, feeling as if all of her bliss were infectious. It was so rare for Alexia to hug him, that alone would've been enough for him to cherish the moment. He put her on a pedestal so high, it was almost as if she were only a statue of a goddess, meant only to look at and admire and exalt. That thought process made it nearly easy to forget that she too was simply flesh and blood, that she would feel soft and warm in his arms. That was why he treasured her embraces so much, they acted as a reminder that she was real and human and it only served to make him love her more. Truthfully, he would always love her even if she became one of those mindless carriers that were infected with the T-virus, but he would never let that happen to her, he would protect her for all time. He was her soldier.

Alexia pulled away from him a little and looked at him, tears of joy dancing lightly in her eyes. "I must confess I was certain I would too, but it still seems almost difficult to believe. Oh, but dear brother, this might very well be one of the most important viruses that Umbrella could ever hope to have in their collection." She wanted to shout it to the entire world that she was the one who created the T-Veronica virus, she wanted everyone to know the source of her unending pride. However, there remained one little problem. "I still require a test subject though," she muttered to herself.

Though Alexia's words were scarcely audible, Alfred still heard his sister's spoken thoughts. Immediately, his mind thought, _Why not me? _If he could be of any help to Alexia, he would not hesitate at the opportunity. He trusted Alexia enough to believe that he would not end up a mindless monster as Alexander had. At once, he voiced his own thoughts to her, but his twin only shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous. You would have to stay in cryostasis for fifteen years and-"

"I don't mind. I wouldn't miss anything except for you."

Alexia was quiet for a moment, thinking over the pros and cons of using Alfred as her test subject. Honestly, she probably couldn't hope to find a more willing candidate. But still, something in her mind just wouldn't let her accept his offer. "Let me think it over, Alfred. I can't afford to make any reckless decisions." The boy agreed to wait for Alexia's verdict on the situation.

As ecstatic as Alexia was about the completion of her virus, all the girl wanted to do as celebration was sleep. The two children made their way up to the main mansion and as the young scientist made her way to her room, Harman appeared and reported that he had a letter for her. "I'll read it later," she replied lazily, but then suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Wait, who sent it?"

"It appears to be from the Arklay labs located in-"

"I know where it's located, you idiot! Just give me the letter," she snapped in agitation as she ripped the letter from the butler's hands with such violence that the paper threatened to tear apart. The girl immediately ran off to her new room, slamming the door behind her and locking it. As she rested her back against the door, all she could do was stare at the letter in her hands. It was from _him_. It had to be. She was almost too frightened to even touch it. _Well, staring at it isn't going to do any good, now is it? Just open it. _

Alexia went over to her dressing table to grab her letter opener and took a deep breath before she carefully tore open the envelope. She placed the letter opener back on her vanity and then took a moment before she pulled out the paper within the envelope and gingerly unfolded the letter. She closed her eyes as soon as the paper was open before her. She could hear her own heart thundering in her ears, pounding against her ribcage as if it were quite ready to explode and kill her that instant. She mentally calmed herself down and willed herself to open her eyes, letting her eyes read the words upon the page.

_Okay, you damn brat, I'm not gonna waste a lot of time writing this letter to you so you better read this closely because this is the only time I will make any voluntary contact with you. I don't care about your useless virus or what you're doing in that godforsaken waste land! Umbrella should have REAL scientists as employees, not some anklebiter playing pretend at getting work done! _

_Fuck. This is already too wordy. Well, this is all I really have to say to you:_

_I_

_HATE_

_YOU_

_I think even a stupid kid like you can understand what I mean. _

_**Dr. **William Birkin_

It hurt to believe the words on the page were true, but there they were, plain to read upon the crinkled and folded paper. Alexia felt as if she had the wind knocked out of her as she collapsed into the chair in front of her desk. Suddenly, the tell-tale prickling sensation began to sting her eyes. She had hoped that maybe she wouldn't have any more tears left to surrender to the man who seemed to take such delight in trampling over her heart endlessly. She wished she could hate him for robbing her of the happiness that had enraptured her earlier, but she just could not do it.

And that knowledge alone was enough to let the hot tears spill from her eyes and race down her cheeks. Soon the sobbing followed and the girl wanted nothing more than to tear her throat out; to erase that awful sound from existence. All she could do was let her fingers gently glide over the words that were carved deep into the paper, ripped in some places from hasty writing, the angry words staring back at her with hate.

_Why can I not just accept it? No one has ever truly loved me and he will not be the exception. _To her father she had been nothing but a trophy; to her brother she was nothing but an idol; to everyone else she was nothing but a tyrannical little girl. And to him she was '… a spoiled little monster'.

_Am I really just a monster?_ she wondered to herself as she sat like a broken doll, crumpled in her chair. _Well, I'm not a real little girl, am I? _She certainly looked like a normal child, but Alexander's notes said she was simply the finished product in a romance between science and greed. _No, I'm just being silly, right? I'm just exhausted and thinking stupid thoughts. Monsters are disgusting things and hurt everything around them. I… don't really…_ Suddenly, she couldn't even finish her own mental words.

Alexia couldn't remember a single moment when she had even attempted to be kind to someone without seeking gain for herself. She certainly didn't care about anyone else's feelings besides William's and her own, she never felt regret or sadness over hurting anyone. In fact, sometimes she did go out of her way just to cause some sort of harm to someone. She was cold towards everyone and often made scathing remarks to people for no good reason. Other times she was downright mean. It wasn't just emotional damage she was guilty of, she had been the perpetrator of physical assault as well. She had killed Christian; turned her father into an abomination against nature; she had caused the demise of endless test subjects. In one way or another, she did seem to harm everyone.

And she was disgusting, wasn't she? Not in terms of her looks, she knew she looked like a little angel. No, it was her entire personality that was despicable. Aside from hurting the people around her, she was just generally unlikeable. She was a snobby child who looked down on everyone. She was conceited and cruel. Everything had to adhere according to her plans and her views. Aside from her intelligence, she could truly not think of another positive trait about herself. Even if she could, it instantaneously turned into something ugly in her mind. For example, she was a determined girl, but that determination only gave her drive for darker ambitions.

She felt as if she were becoming physically ill. Never once in her life had she dwelt on her personality like this before. She had thought she was perfect, that there was absolutely no room for improvement on her person. But as she took a deeper, more serious look on herself, she felt like she was suffocating. _It's a wonder I was surprised before at William not liking me. How could he? What is there for him to like?_ She felt revolted just by being inside her own skin, by being who she was. She felt so weak and full of self-loathing.

And she felt anger for being so completely stupid and thinking about such things. Why should she care about the whole matter? She had just finished her virus and was about to become the most important scientist in the world. So William Birkin hated her. William Birkin was not the only thing important to her… right? _It's not as if I can completely change who I am! I just cannot. I… What am I supposed to do?_ She let the piece of paper slip from her fingers as she crumpled over her lap, burying her face into her arms. "What am I supposed to do…?" She felt so helpless. Had she known that this would be the result, she never would have looked at that picture on the table that one fateful day when she was seven.

She was only twelve years old and had completed something so magnificent as the T-Veronica virus. No other child of the same age could possibly have boasted about such an accomplishment. Yet that seemed to hardly matter after reading the letter. If there was one thing to be gained from the letter, it was that Alexia was getting a better grasp of that abstract concept called 'love'. It was a terrible thing. _Just look at what it has reduced me to._ What good had love ever caused? She could think of nothing. Not one thing.

Love was evil.

… _Evil? Then it seems perfect that a monster such as myself should feel something so horrendous. _But she didn't want to feel love anymore, she didn't want to feel anything. She would be better off if she could feel nothing at all. She just wished everything was different. _One day I'll be a queen who feels nothing at all. Yes, that sounds ideal. I would have no vulnerability and if I have no vulnerability then no one can hurt me._ She smiled a little bit to herself, but it quickly died on her lips. _But that will never happen, will it?_ Again, her heart seemed to clench painfully.

"What am I supposed to do?" she mumbled sadly to herself once more. She was truly unsure, now that the virus was complete she had really nothing else to drive her forward. Her pursuits in love were rendered useless and she had no desire to do anything else. If she couldn't be a heartless queen, then at the very least she wished she could be Sleeping Beauty and be claimed by dreamless sleep.

Suddenly, she sat up as the T-Veronica jumped to the forefront of her mind. _Wait, I could be Sleeping Beauty. I wouldn't be asleep for a hundred years, however I can be free of meaningless day-to-day life for fifteen years._ It seemed like a fantastic idea. She was the only person she truly trusted with her virus and the only one worthy of its power, so she would make the perfect test subject. And even if on the off-chance that her virus did not work as planned, it wasn't as if she had any reason to return to her living her life anyway. _Yes. I'll use the T-Veronica virus on myself. And when I awaken, I will be like a queen ant and I will make certain that no one makes me unhappy again. _It might justifiably make her into a real monster, but in her own eyes she was one already. _But it must be done in secret. If no one will miss me, then it's best they think of me as dead. _

_But who will watch over me as I am in cryostasis? _she wondered to herself. Simply leaving the project under the care of her various assistants seemed like a bad idea. She didn't believe that they fully understood the greatness of her creation and if they did, she suspected they might try to steal it for themselves. She could think of only one person she could trust almost as much as she trusted herself. Alfred would certainly make sure that she was undisturbed while her body and the virus learned to coexist together. No, he wasn't nearly smart enough to understand her work, but he was definitely loyal enough to keep her safe as best he could. And even if he failed, it wasn't like she would be able to fault him for it after she turned into some sort of crazed creature or if she died.

While she believed that Alfred would make for the best body guard as she was in such a helpless state, she still felt it was risky to place such faith in him, but it couldn't be helped. Despite her emotional state, she didn't really want to die. At least she didn't want to die when there was the possibility for her to become one with her virus. She would be the most powerful being in the world, no one would be able to deny her anything. Not even love.

It was decided and she was resolute in putting her plan into effect as soon as possible. She stood up from her chair and immediately went in search for her brother. She first went to his room to see if he was there, luckily he was sitting at his desk. He wasn't doing anything really, just sitting there with his back to the door, one lonely candle flickering before him. He heard Alexia enter and yet for a moment couldn't find the nerve to face her. Through the wall that separated their rooms, he had heard her crying; the heartrending sound that always caused his world to shatter a little more. He knew why she was crying, he knew all too well.

As the years had passed, Alfred had begun to hate William Birkin so very intensely. Part of him felt he shouldn't, given that Birkin was the person his dear sister was in love with, but the thought of the other man always sent him into a rage. Not his usual violent anger that was easily apparent, but something that simmered hotly beneath the surface. He managed to quiet his emotions on the subject solely for the benefit of Alexia. For Alfred, his sister was easy to read. He could understand her behaviour completely, and he knew that she would not want anyone to hate Dr. Birkin when she was so full of affection for him despite how much he hurt her. And that was the very reason why Alfred loathed the American scientist.

In Alfred's eyes, there was no way that Birkin was deserving of Alexia's love. Then again, no one seemed worthy. How could any person hope to be good enough for her? There was only one person who could even begin to comprehend just how flawless she was and that was himself. He didn't even think that he deserved her, but out of all the other useless creatures that littered the planet he was the best choice. The fact that they were related didn't even seem to enter into Alfred's mind. He was so obsessed with her, loved her so much, that it was easy to feel possessive over her. So it wasn't just hatred born out of how the other man tormented his sister, but those virulent feelings were mixed with seething jealousy. He wanted to be the one able to inspire those particular emotions in Alexia.

"Alfred, I have to inform you of something of high importance. As well, I must request a favour of you." Once Alexia spoke, her brother turned to face her automatically. He could still see the fresh tears on her face and, beneath the droplets, a countenance of conviction. Alexia hated looking weak and would never walk around showing such vulnerability freely. Deep concern for his sister flared up in Alfred as he listened to Alexia's words with interest. Anything she asked of him, he would submit to readily. However, what he did not know was that this was a demand to which he would not so easily agree.

"What is it, Alexia?" he questioned with sad inflection, the same emotion completely masking his face as well.

"I have decided who shall be my test subject for the T-Veronica virus."

"Who?"

"Myself."

* * *

_April 22nd _

_The experiment resulted in failure. Our father was useless after all. Even worse, he turned into a dangerous monster that is completely out of control. _

_We tied him down and locked him up in an underground prison cell. However, Alexia seems to be close to a solution. Beyond all my expectations, she now says that she wishes to conduct the experiment on her own body. _

_On top of that, she feels she must be kept asleep for 15 years in order to accomplish the experiment. Thanks to that idiot, I can't see my dear Alexia for as long as 15 years. _

_Alexia is going to sleep, with all of her trust relying upon me. Now, I am the only one who can protect Alexia._

* * *

As soon as he had heard what Alexia intended to do, Alfred felt as if he could've died right then. Fifteen years without his beloved sister? He could hardly stand being away from her for fifteen minutes. If everyone else in the world died at that moment besides himself and Alexia, he wouldn't care at all. He had no desire for any other person's company. Everyone else was boring, dull, and expendable. So to be without her everyday for so many years, the very thought of it inspired in him only the most extreme terror. No, she couldn't just leave him!

He had thrown himself at her feet, he had begged and pleaded for her to reconsider, but she was as immovable as a stone. Her decision had been made and nothing he could do would sway her. She had then informed him that he was a crucial part of her plan. She needed him to watch over her for those fifteen years and she was entrusting only him with this great secret. "Do you think you can do this for me, Alfred?" He knew he didn't really have a choice and, despite what he felt, knew he would not deny what she asked of him.

She had immediately taken him down to the lab with her, speaking not a word to her brother as Alfred was still too shocked to even speak. Once they entered her work space, Alfred finally found his voice again. "Alexia, must you really leave me for fifteen years?" he asked her quietly as she sat down at her desk, ready to write down all plans and instructions for her brother. His sister didn't reply. In a voice barely above a whisper, he murmured, "I don't want you to do this. I don't want to be alone."

"I've already told you over and over again, brother. I am going through with this and that is final. Now come stand by me so that I can show you exactly how to care for all the equipment and the other necessary preparations." The teardrops had dried on her face and she was once again back to her usual near-robotic state of being. With something to focus on, it made the pain hurt a little less.

For once, Alfred did not acquiesce to his sister's request. All he could do was stand there weakly, tears blurring his vision as he gazed at his twin, trying desperately to memorize absolutely every little detail about her. The way she sat in her chair; every nuance of her voice; the exact expression on her face as she turned around to look at him. She looked irritated with him and Alfred couldn't endure Alexia being upset with him, so he found the strength to drag his feet across the floor to stand by her.

"Alfred, you're being completely selfish about all of this," she reprimanded him, anger flowing through her words. "You have to understand that when I return I'll have everything I could possibly want. Don't you want that for me?"

"Of course, Alexia! It's just that…" Alfred couldn't find the right words, because he realized she was right. He was being selfish. If this was what his sister wanted, then who was he to stand in her way? He felt torn between being unable to look at her and not wanting to look at anything else but his sister, so he simply stared at her hand resting on the table. He just wanted her to really understand just how much she meant to him. Was that even possible? No possible word in existence could hope to convey just how he felt and no action he could make would ever be enough.

Alexia sighed, almost as if it were a sign of defeat. She wanted to complete everything as quickly as possible and her plans would likely not go as she wished if Alfred continued to act the same way. So for just a little while she had to appease him. She hunched over the desk, pen in hand as she quickly scribbled down a note, before turning to her brother and handing the piece of paper to him. It read:

_My dear brother, _

_I firmly believe that the glory of the Ashford family will be revived through your courage and strength as an honoured soldier._

_Yours faithfully, _

_Alexia Ashford_

Once Alfred's eyes finished scanning over the words, he looked back up at Alexia with reverence and awe. "Please, Alfred. I need your help," she told him sincerely. "If it will ease your suffering at all, you may take all that is mine." Alexia reasoned she would not need any of her personal belongings once she returned, as she would have a natural claim on everything the world contained. She paused for a moment as she thought of something that might make her brother more inclined to help her without hindrance. "In fact, if you would like, we could even make a video of the two of us. That way, you may be able to see me every day whilst I am gone."

Grateful was no where near enough to even begin to describe just how Alfred felt at that moment. Alexia was going out of her way to try and lessen his pain, when in comparison to her own, his misery really meant nothing. He couldn't put up a fight anymore. He agreed to her idea instantaneously. A strained but genuine smile appeared on her face, which he mirrored with one of his own.

* * *

The twins had decided everything and made preparations for Alexia's last day of consciousness before her fifteen year slumber. Alfred was busy setting up everything necessary for the video as Alexia sat waiting in her room, writing down her thoughts as she sat at her vanity. She had already injected herself with the virus as it took several hours for any effects to take place as she had found out with Alexander. Thus she would have plenty of time to fulfill her promise to Alfred and then get into the cryogenic tube that she had set up for herself in the laboratory below.

Eventually, Alfred returned to his sister, poking his head around the hidden door that joined their new bedrooms. "Alexia," the boy called softly, "everything is ready now." The blonde girl looked up at her brother and set aside her writing, her written reflections completed. Alexia wasn't sure of what Alfred had set up, but they didn't want to plan anything in particular. The video was meant to be a snapshot of time, showing them both as they naturally were. Wordlessly, she followed Alfred up to the secret room above their own. When they had discovered it, it had appeared to be a secret meeting room that had belonged to Alexander.

It was a fairly simple room made entirely of wood, however it did not lack typical Ashford refinement. There were several knick knacks and expensive items on display, littering a low counter dividing the main part of the room from the ladder leading back to the lower level. The only furnishings of note in the room were a small table, a larger conference table, and some chairs. On one wall, there was a lattice window with false light shining through. The room was still beneath ground so it would've been impossible to get natural light down there even during the months where the sun would shine all day. Despite the lack of real sunlight, the illumination streaming from the window somehow gave the intimidating room a real sense of warmth.

On the walls, there were three portraits of members of the Ashford family. To the right of the window there was a picture of the twins' grandfather, Edward Ashford. Behind the head of the table was yet another picture of the legendary matriarch Veronica. To the left of the window was a picture that the twins had yet to take down, preferring to leave it and let their hatred smoulder. It was a portrait of Alexander that the two of them had vandalized upon its discovery.

On the large table sat a container, which housed an anthill, and another container kept on one end that held a few dragonflies, one reserve of her ants' food supply. A man awaited them in the room, readying the camera, unaware that Alfred would dispose of him once he had completed this task for him. He had been one of the many workers in the facility, he just happened to have the bad luck of getting asked by the young male Ashford if he could handle a camera. Unknowingly, he had agreed to help the boy.

Alexia made her way over to the window seat and sat down, blank expression covering her face as she mindlessly gazed at the floor, staring at nothing. Her mind told her she needed to at least pretend to care about what was happening just for a little while and then she would get her fifteen years of peace. She would be liberated from those awful little things known as emotions; things capable of rendering an otherwise brilliant mind into a useless mess of repetitive thoughts. Anger; sadness; hate; love. She wanted them all gone. She could even live without happiness if she could be without those other feelings. _Just wait a little longer. You won't have to suffer anymore. Just wait a little longer…_

Alfred took a seat to the left of his sister, telling their 'cameraman' to start recording. Alexia looked over slightly to her brother and saw a dragonfly struggling between his fingers. Her twin looked over to her for a moment, as if to make sure it was okay to start filming, Alexia just peeked up at the other man in the room for a moment before returning her gaze to her brother's hands. Alfred started pulling off the insect's wings one by one as Alexia watched with vague interest. It looked cruel and yet the girl couldn't find the will to be disgusted, instead somehow enjoying how the critter writhed as it was stripped of its appendages. Knowing that it was a sacrifice for her ants, an empty smile crept onto her face.

Her gaze shifted up to the facility worker, the unsettling and misplaced expression of contentment still showing on her face, as she began to wonder just what he thought of the two of them. Did they seem strange to him? After all, why would a couple of children want a video of themselves mutilating a dragonfly to feed to some ants? _Oh you poor fool, if only you knew that I am a monster and that I should enjoy this sort of thing. _The man turned the camera to focus on her momentarily. Something about the look on the man's face told Alexia that he wasn't entirely comfortable and indeed there did seem to be an almost eerie tension that clouded the atmosphere in the room. However, it seemed that the Ashford twins were impervious to it.

Finding Alexia's near soulless stare to be disturbing, the man stopped focusing solely on her face as her brother got up and walked over to the table with the now wingless dragonfly. He dropped the insect onto the anthill and leant over to examine as the ants swarmed the defenceless thing. Reminding herself that this was to be a memento of herself for Alfred, Alexia got up from her seat as well and went to stand next to Alfred, also peeking into the container, so that the camera had a better view of herself. Figuring that since they both seemed very interested in what was in the container, the worker also moved up to the table and zoomed in on what was inside.

The man soon zoomed out from the work of the ants and resumed focus on the twins. The two stared at the insects for a moment longer, before they both looked up at each other with uncanny synchrony. A couple of moments passed until, with sudden discomfort, the man turned off the camera and set the device on the table. "So uh… you don't need me to record anything anymore, right?" he asked with a hint of tension-filled awkwardness. The siblings continued to be silent for a few more seconds.

It may have only been mere moments, but Alfred didn't miss the opportunity to drink in Alexia's beauty. To think that he wouldn't be able to see the sight for over decade, it was unbearable. He'd be almost thirty by the time she came back to him! No, he had to memorized every pore on her face and the way her breath felt on his skin. Warm, moist, light. God, there wasn't enough time in the world to remember every single little detail of her perfection, but that sure as hell wouldn't stop him from trying. Why couldn't he be this close to her forever? Why did life always find ways to tear him away from the only person he cherished?

Suddenly, Alexia placed her hands on her brother's face and tilted it downwards then kissed him quickly on the forehead. At that moment, she wanted to be sure she would get nothing less than absolute obedience from her brother with regards to her experiment. So any encouragement she could give to him, she would give it away freely. "I'll wait for you in the lab." All Alfred could do as Alexia left the room was touch his forehead as if God had just kissed him.

The girl raced down to the lower levels of the facility that were now void of any other person besides herself. She had decided to give the other researchers a day off and under no circumstances was anyone to be down in the labs. Given that the T-Veronica had been completed, it didn't seem unreasonable for her to do such a thing; uncharacteristic, yes, but not unreasonable. They all listened to her happily, not willing to test her sudden good mood. The only sounds that echoed through the empty area was the hum of the computers and the scurrying of the many ants. The door to the lab down the hall from her personal office slid open, allowing her access. She immediately went over to the necessary technology and started to input commands, careful to make sure that everything was set just right.

Time passed and eventually the doors opened again as her brother entered the room. Splatters of blood covered Alfred's hands and some of his clothing, an equally bloodied knife clutched loosely in his hand. He looked absolutely miserable, but it wasn't because of the gore that covered him. In fact, he seemed to pay it no mind at all as it dripped slowly from his skin and from the blade. Alexia knew that it was a new wave of grief washing over him at being separated from herself.

"I disposed of that man," he stated quietly, unable to meet his sister's eyes and staring instead at her feet. "Your ants should be able to destroy any remains."

With a sigh, Alexia took off her gray jacket and walked over to her brother, taking the knife from his hand and placing it on one of the counters in the room. Cradling his hands in her own, she wiped the crimson mess away with her coat. "How are you supposed to handle to computers like this?" she chided gently.

"I'm sorry."

The girl looked up at Alfred and honestly, she could understand his pain. She knew that he adored her beyond anything else that life could ever hope to offer him. She also knew that even just the thought of being separated from her for so long was almost literally killing him. But she didn't know how to be kind; she didn't know how to show sympathy; she didn't know how to ease another person's pain. All she could do was promise she would return and pray that he had the strength to wait for her.

"Alfred, go over there," she pointed to the various screens and monitors, "and watch the computers. I'm going to into the cryogenic tube now." The boy nodded and did as he was told as his sister went to stand in front of the device. A moment's hesitation passed over her as her hand hovered above her clothing. _Don't worry about something as trivial as modesty at a time like this,_ she scolded herself before stripping out of her garments. The encasement opened and she stepped within the tube. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _This is it._

She heard the tubing slide shut and fluid began to fill the compartment. As it slowly engulfed her body, suddenly her mind gave way and the thoughts of William she had forbidden herself from thinking flooded her brain. She couldn't just stop loving him, there was no way around it. However, once she returned she would truly be perfect. He wouldn't be able to say he didn't love her anymore.

_You will love me, William. I won't give you a choice._

* * *

_Work continues on the "T-Veronica" virus which I extracted from the queen ant. The more research I conduct on it, the more I am impressed by how much potential it has. _

_I have finally implanted the virus into my own body, and discovered how to fully utilize its power. I will avoid making the mistake that I made on my father. I will suppress the activity of the virus at an ultra-low temperature, so that my cells will change slowly._

_My calculations indicate that it will take 15 years before my body will gain immunity, and become able to coexist with the virus. _

_Until then, I have no choice but to trust the capsule that I will be in, to that inept but loyal soldier ant who is my brother. For me to obtain unlimited power, some risks need to be taken. _

_When I awaken, I will be the queen... And the "T-Veronica" virus will be unleashed upon the entire world by my children. Every last creature on earth will exist to serve me. _

_At that time, the world will achieve the perfect ecosystem, just like an anthill, but on a much grander scale. _

_ Alexia Ashford _

* * *

**So… I didn't die. If anyone was wondering. XD I just got kidnapped by another fandom for a while so I had little inspiration to continue this. BUT! Now it seems I'm back into the swing of things. And I intend to finish this as I only have three chapters left after this. B)**

**ANYWAY. Author notes for this lollygagger.**

**1. Thanks to CAPCOM for all the files in this chapter.**

**2. Thanks also goes to my friend QueenCelestiaxyv who beta-read this for me super quick.**

**3. _ALLLLLLFREEEEEEEDDDD!_ ;A; (Yeah, he gets a note for himself. Because I love him so.)**

**Well, we're gonna be skipping forward fifteen years next time and we finally get some for real canon action going on. c:**


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